In 1982 my husband (George Green EOW 10-26-10) worked an accident where a women, eight months pregnant and a four- year old boy were killed. Till the year he died the little boy, as he put it, visited him in his dreams. At his funeral a colleague told me he asked George one time what he was doing with all the stuff he had seen, heard, smelled and George told him he put it in a closet in his brain with a locked door.

This is why I am part of Warriors Rest. This foundation will help officers help themselves and their partners deal with what they see, they hear and smell. They hold the hand of a dying person, get yelled for doing their job and tell relatives that their loved one has died. That is why this foundation is so important. People see the officer I see the family behind the officer that is there at the end of a shift. They don’t know what happened at work nor do most officers tell what happened. The family has its own needs and wants from the officer. The officer needs a resource that he can talk to when it gets hard and fellow officers looking out for him when he can’t talk about situations. The officer needs to learn how to take care of him/herself.

This is what Warriors Rest does. It teaches officer how to take care of himself or herself and thus be a better family member. It teaches departments how to have peer support groups within the department so they can help each other. They are the ones that see the officer and know him/her. They are the ones that will see the changes. When there is a critical incident that effects the whole department they can go in and help the entire department deal with the tragedy. They provide on going support for the officers and department. That is why I believe in the foundation. My husband should have been able to let the four-year-old boy rest. He shouldn’t have had a closet with a locked door.

During National Police Week of 2011 I became aware of the National Concern of Police Survivors (COPS). This organization provides on going support to the families of fallen officers. I was president of the local chapter from 2013 to2017. I still serve on the board. This organization also works with police officers. From the experience of working with departments and being the wife of an officer I have learned how valuable the knowledge that Warriors Rest can bring to a department can be.