This constable's dad and partner are police officers. She's seen how the job can affect mental health

Sue Solman wanted a career working with children and community, but ultimately decided to follow her father's footsteps and join North Bay, Ont.'s municipal police service. 

Her experience growing up with a parent working in policing shaped her perception of the profession and how it can impact one's life.

This week, she was given the annual provincial Hero Beyond the Badge award, presented by the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs, for work in advocating for more mental health resources for her colleagues.

"Watching my dad be an exceptional police officer, I also got to see some of the downsides," she said. 

"Back in those days, we didn't have a comprehension of what was going on, but I knew his job was affecting his personal and family life."

When Solman became a constable, her father's experience always stayed in the back of her mind. 

She said she would make a point to check in with colleagues after difficult calls, and advocate for more conversations and resources about mental health in the workplace with her management.

She doubled down on those efforts when her partner, also a police officer, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2017. 

"Our management at the time really had no idea what to do," she said. 

"There wasn't a lot of education about it, that stigma was still there. So I didn't stop talking about it. I'd suck the oxygen out of every room." 

She said that over the years, there's been a real culture shift at the North Bay police station, with more officers willing to open up about their experiences and seek help. 

"We just started to recognize that a lot of the calls that we go to can really affect us in a whole bunch of ways," she said.

New generation of officers aware of issues around mental health 

Solman said there are physical cues that someone might be having mental health struggles, like slight changes in personality, more irritability, absenteeism and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

She said a lot of the conversations are about unpacking assumptions around projecting strength and recognizing it's normal to feel shaken after certain situations. 

"Communication really helped end that stigma and it really helped other officers get connected to services that they probably should have been connected to a long time ago," she said.

Solman now works in the mobile crisis unit, after several years focusing on victims of sexual assault. 

Since being recognized for her work and advocacy, she connected with her father, who is now retired from policing. 

"We've had plenty of conversations about mental health and how his job affected him," she said. 

"There's no regrets, but I truly believe that if he had the resources we have available today his life would have been different."