The cambridge police department requests lemhwa funding to embeda clinician within the agency

The Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program awarded the City of Cambridge $119,938 on October 1, 2025, under the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (CFDA 16.070) to embed a clinician within the Cambridge Police Department who will establish and operate a comprehensive officer wellness program.

The clinician will establish a peer support network, conduct critical incident debriefings and follow-up check-in services, and provide informal debriefing opportunities for officers. The position will implement psychoeducational training and programs addressing alcohol use, domestic violence, suicide prevention, and traumatic stress; develop family support programs and interventions during critical incidents; offer stress-reducing activities including trauma-informed yoga; deploy wellness literature throughout the police station; compile a network of culturally competent mental health therapists serving law enforcement; and develop mental health and wellness training curriculum for new officers with resource information.

The award period extends from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027, with performance taking place in Cambridge, Maryland. The City of Cambridge, a municipal government entity in Dorchester County, Maryland, is the recipient. The LEMHWA program funds efforts to improve mental health and wellness service delivery for law enforcement officers and their families through peer support, officer mental health training, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and family support services.

The clinician will be responsible for setting up the infrastructure of the wellness program and support the officers at the agency. This position would oversee the establishment of a peer support network, critical incident debriefings and follow up a with check-in services, provide opportunities for informal debriefings for officers, implement and develop psychoeducational training and programs about alcohol, domestic violence, suicide, traumatic events, establish programs for families and supportive interventions during critical incidents, offer stress-reducing activities to officers and their families such as psychoeducational lectures and the evidenced-based treatment modality of trauma-informed yoga, implement wellness literature (posters, flyers, etc.) into the police station, compile a network of culturally competent mental health therapists that work with law enforcement, and develop training curriculum regarding mental health and wellness for new staff informing them of resources.