There are three pillars to the foundation of our efforts here at the Maine Center for Resilience and Survivability: Treatment, Training, and Education.
We also search of brave law enforcement leaders working to promote officer resilience. Throughout the year we look for individuals who are taking Officer Resilience seriously by demonstrating a commitment to changing the current culture of silence and ignorance to one of acceptance and support.
We look for pioneers who take bold steps towards improving the lives of law enforcement officers and their families. For the most courageous efforts towards safeguarding the lives of police officers we created the Officer Welfare Warrior Award!
In 2022 we found just such a warrior.
Chief Roger Beaupre of the Biddeford Police Department took an audacious step towards cracking the monolithic stigma associated with police officers asking for help by initiating the Annual Resilience Review for everyone in his department.
Chief Beaupre lead by example as he was the first member of the department to take part in the program. Despite some opposition to requiring his officers to ‘sit down with a shrink’ for an hour, he saw the value in the Annual Resilience Review and mandated everyone from patrol, CID, and dispatch to participate. Chief Beaupre’s experience, spanning 5 decades, convinced him of the need for his officers to take advantage of the benefits offered by engaging in the Annual Resilience Review.
Not very deep into 2023, we had the opportunity to Present Chief Beaupre with a plaque, for the Officer Welfare Warrior Award, commemorating his pioneering achievements!
Chief Beaupre has since retired from Biddeford Police Department but his legacy of supporting ‘his people’ lives on.