The month of October highlights the importance of mental health — acknowledging a variety of mental health observances, including Mental Illness Awareness Week, ADHD Awareness Month, and World Mental Health Day.
Here at UWPD, October serves as a helpful reminder of the importance of prioritizing mental health and a reminder to our community that we are here to support them.
Our UWPD Therapy Dog Program is here to provide support to our campus community during times of stress or crisis. Our therapy dogs can be a helpful resource for our campus community, such as when students are adjusting to life on campus away from home, working hard studying for challenging exams, or having a tough week and could use a hug from a furry friend. Our therapy dogs are also a helpful resource to our UWPD employees, as well, because nothing will make you smile bigger than having a furry friend pop into your office and brighten your day!
In addition to providing mental health support to our campus community, we also prioritize mental health practices within our department. We believe that in order to effectively serve our community safely and continue to keep our staff operating at the highest level of service, making sure our staff have what they need to protect their own mental health is critical to our mission.
Here at UWPD, we offer all our employees access to the Calm App, providing them with a vast array of mental health resources right at their fingertips that they can engage with at any time. We also provide our team with a dedicated meditation space, where they are free to take some well-deserved downtime after a challenging incident to process their thoughts and emotions before returning to assist our community and being at their best.
Lastly, we have our Peer Support Team, comprised of specially trained individuals who provide support, information, and referrals to UWPD employees seeking assistance — whether related to a critical incident, day-to-day work stress, or personal life stress.
At UWPD, we care about our campus community and our team, and we will always provide our UW-Madison community with the best service possible while also prioritizing our own mental health.