Family First Series: Family Support
May 24, 2021
Jeff McGill
Jeff McGill is no stranger to the issue of officer mental health. Besides a career of over 22 years in public safety, Jeff’s PhD research focused on the Perceptions of Mental Health and Suicide on Millennial Generation Law Enforcement Academy Recruits.
Together with Karen Solomon, Jeff co-authoredThe Price They Pay,which examines the true struggles of police officers who have been emotionally or physically injured on the job, in order to humanize their experiences. Jeff says he was motivated to go back to school to study the emotional trials of law enforcement because “an academic who had never fought a criminal into handcuffs or been on the wrong end of a gun voiced an opinion on police use of force on television one night and I wanted to have the academic credentials to push back.”
Outside of his research, Jeff takes any chance he can to visit the mountains. He also enjoys various genres of music, because “my mother introduced me to music early on in life and now songs on my playlist are so varied that you never know if the next song is going to help calm the nerves or incite a riot.”
Steven Hough
Steven Hough is the co-founder of Blue H.E.L.P., a nonprofit that provides education and support for officers and families struggling with PTSD and mental health issues.
Steven himself has over 21 years of experience in the public safety industry as a patrol officer, investigator and inspector amongst other jobs. Currently, he still works as an inspector in Baker, Florida. On the weekends, Steven raises cows!
Steven would like to dedicate his episode of Family First to the “families who walked with us through the chaos of that day” and to the first responder families across the country who may need to support their own loved ones through similar circumstances.