RUMFORD — After almost 13 years in law enforcement in Rumford, Brad Gallant found himself in a position where he did not believe he would finish his career. He was stressed and depressed, ultimately taken out of work because he was unfit for duty.

Gallant said lingering issues were mounting for him between 2017 and 2022, both on the personal side and professional side.

“On the professional life side, almost every fatal crash that we get in Rumford, I ended up catching. It just worked out that way,” he said. “I got to the point in 2021 where I was out of work for five weeks, and it was because of my mental health, because of my well-being. I was not dealing with my personal life struggles, and my professional struggles.”

He came back from his time off and over the next year he forged a new path in law enforcement. A law enforcement officer since 2008, Gallant is now a sergeant after filling the role of patrolman, corporal, field training officer and K-9 handler.

Since 2022, Gallant said he has been actively working on his personal mental health as well as trying to create opportunities for other first responders to better their mental health.

“It took me awhile to get to this point,” he said. “I believe if I can talk bluntly to people about the fact that I’ve considered suicide; I go see a therapist; I try to do things to improve myself, but have days where I don’t want to get out of bed — and that’s OK,” he said.

“You don’t have to be a first responder to feel that way,” he added. “People will go through various types of trauma all through their life, no matter what they do or don’t do, what their profession is. But certain pockets are close to me, and that’s first responders.”

With the support of his chief, Tony Milligan, Gallant wrote and was awarded a federal Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act grant in 2023 for the Rumford Police Department. The grant helped the department build a foundation for a wellness program and ultimately led to the planning of a conference focusing on first responders’ mental health set to take place later this month.

“Chief is a fairly progressive administrator,” he said. “He has bent over backwards for me personally, several other guys here, and the department as a whole, to take care of our well-being, both personally and professionally.

Gallant said they requested $178,000, but received $169,000 in October of 2023 for two years, with a 90-day extension. “We focused on clinical contacts, with a huge focus on training,” he said.

Gallant, Sgt. James Bernard and Milligan went to a national conference, and Gallant is going to a second national conference in November. The grant period ends in December.

With the chief’s support, Gallant put together the Western Maine Wellness Conference, set for Aug. 18 and 19 in Rumford. The learning and networking event features presenters covering an array of wellness topics specifically focusing on police, fire, emergency medical services personnel and dispatchers, along with their significant others.

Sponsored by the Rumford Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office, it will take place both days from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mountain Valley High School, 799 Hancock St.

Tuition is covered by the Rumford Police Department and an Officer Wellness Grant. Each attendee will be invoiced a nonrefundable $50 fee to cover the use of the facility, snacks and lunch for both days. The cost for spouses is an additional $25.

Registration will be accepted until the day of the event. For more information, see RumfordPD.org/training.

Gallant said his goal is to welcome 150 people at the conference. By early August, there were already 100 first responders and significant others, and more than 25 presenters. Presenters include keynote speaker Matt Griffin, with his presentation “The Treasure in the Trauma”; and guest speaker Dr. Ben Stone presenting “Bullet-Proofing Your Heart: Cardiac Safety in Law-Enforcement (virtual presentation).”

Gallant will also be a presenter. His topic will be “Wellness Program Development: One small department’s journey.”

“I wanted to bring some exposure here to Maine,” Gallant said. “The conference I went to in the fall was $350 to attend for a first responder. This is $50. Not as big of a national conference, and it doesn’t come with a hotel, but this Rumford conference will feature some of the same speakers as a national conference, some of which have never presented in Maine.”

He said the goal is to bring together first responders, their family supports, and experts in the field to foster improved collaboration on mental health awareness and support for those in emergency services.

“First responders face significant mental health challenges due to the nature of their work,” Gallant said. “Addressing these issues is crucial, as untreated mental health problems can negatively impact their well-being, job performance, and even lead to increased suicide rates.”

Making a difference at home

Within his own department, Gallant feels he’s had some good feedback, but “real hard numbers of those affected in this way I think is harder and I think it takes more time than 18 months.”

Gallant said he liked the idea of getting his coworkers in front of a grant-funded therapist, but acknowledged that telling them “hey you’re going to see a therapist” was not the best approach.

“So the way we ended up talking about it is we told everybody they were going to meet this therapist, and we don’t care what you talk about. If you want to have a therapy session, no problem. We’re going to cover this, out of this money,” Gallant said. “If you want to get to know this person, great, because in the future, if you have something you need somebody for, you’ve now developed some type of relationship.”

He said one of the guys brought in a cribbage board and they played. One of the other guys talked sports.

“There were definitely guys who were hesitant, but there was understanding why we were doing it. They were asking that everyone go every 90 days during the grant period, which was 27 months. Everyone in the department has had some sort of participation in the program,” Gallant said.

The department has also hosted two trainings in which clinicians and first responders were invited. One was in the town auditorium hosted by Dirigo Safety. Twenty people attended, 14 from outside agencies. A second training was hosted at Region 9 in Mexico, with 48 people from Maine and New Hampshire.

Gallant believes this has made a difference with his department. “I think for some more significantly than others.”

“Before we started this, some people had great support systems in place,” he said. “Some people didn’t have the baggage, the trauma, or they had already dealt with or processed it in some way.

“Before we got this grant, I’d been seeing a therapist for two years,” he said.

“Making (wellness) part of our profession is most valuable to the younger (officers) because when you come into this profession as a young person, unless you had prior military experience, you probably didn’t have any of the measurable trauma you’re going to get exposed to.”

He noted that some people process trauma really well. Some people don’t.

“And if you’re in the don’t, it’s not natural to deal with some of the things that first responders deal with,” Gallant said. “It’s not natural to go to a car crash with multiple people dying. It’s not natural to go to a house where people have burned to death.”

Gallant concluded, “I think it’s important to make sure that at an early period of people’s career, they can understand ways that they can go about keeping themselves on a better track mentally.”