St. Petersburg College is offering a new mental health program that aims to help first responders and police officers.
It's an applied mental health certificate that falls under a bachelor's degree. The program gives law enforcement the tools needed to deal with mental health issues.
ABC Action News spoke to Jonathan Vazquez about the new course. Vazquez is the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association president. He also served in the military and is currently on the St. Pete Police force.
“I come from the military. I did two combat tours in Iraq. Mental health is huge in the military,” Vazquez said.
As mental health has become more prevalent in the last several years, St. Petersburg College is stepping in to ensure officers are able to get the help needed.
“We are excited about it because it gives us a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with law enforcement on a very important issue of mental health,” Dr. Joseph Smiley, with St. Petersburg College, said.
Dr. Smiley said the program will put police in a position to help themselves, their colleagues, and the community with mental health issues.
“I think this program is huge. I think this program is massively important, and I think it is going to gain a lot of traction because it’s officers helping officers,” Vasquez said.
He explained that officers are not comfortable talking about their mental health struggles with people who are not in law enforcement. This program gives officers the tools to navigate mental health issue with other officers.
The class is underway at SPC Midtown.
