From left: Gene Ellis of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, Gregory Stevens of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, Chief Steve Dye of the Allen Police Department, Chief Special Agent Will Johnson of the BNSF Railway Police, and BJ Wagner of the Meadows Institute.
Texas recorded the highest number of law enforcement suicide deaths in 2022, according to BJ Wagner, the Meadows Institute’s senior vice president of health and public safety. One year later, in May 2023, a mass shooting at a shopping mall rocked the community of Allen, Texas, including first responders called to the scene.
In response to the Allen shooting and the increasing need for officer mental health resources across the state, the Meadows Institute introduced the Texas Blue Chip Program in August 2023, in collaboration with the Texas Law Enforcement Peer Network (TLEPN). The program, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at offering police officers an access point for clinical mental health services, introduces specially designed poker chips that grant officers access to confidential and free mental health support, accessible at police stations and virtually on the TLEPN app.
At a June 17 press conference at Dallas’ Communities Foundations of Texas, the Meadows Institute’s BJ Wagner announced the statewide expansion of this program alongside Chief Steve Dye of the Allen Police Department, Chief Special Agent Will Johnson of the BNSF Railway Police, Gregory Stevens of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and Gene Ellis of the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
The announcement marks a significant milestone for officer mental health: Texas is now the only state in the nation to offer both a statewide law enforcement peer network and a program that provides anonymous and free mental health services to officers where and when they need it.
“I’m hopeful that [the Blue Chip Program] spreads across the country to get these men and women who respond to protect and serve their communities the help that they need immediately, without stigma, so that they can continue to serve in a healthy manner and also be great family members to those that they love,” said Chief Steve Dye of the Allen Police Department, who took over the department following the 2023 mass shooting.
A resounding theme of Monday’s press conference was the Texas Blue Chip Program’s role in challenging the stigma around reaching out for mental health support in the law enforcement community.
“A healthy officer is a better officer,” said Gregory Stevens of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. “They’re more kind, they’re more empathetic, they’re more resilient. Healthy officers are better spouses, better parents, better members of their community.”
Gene Ellis of the Texas Police Chiefs Association echoed Stevens’ sentiment. “It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to ask for help. And as police executives, we must encourage that — we must promote the Blue Chip Program.”
While the Texas Blue Chip Program is already sparking positive changes across the state, the fight for better officer mental health is not over, said Chief Special Agent Will Johnson of the BNSF Railway Police. “This is a step in the right direction. I’m very proud of today. This by no means represents the finish point, but yet another step on a journey to officer wellness and a reduction of officer suicides,” said Johnson.
