07-02-2025
Florida law enforcement launches Peer Support Certification Program
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Each day, law enforcement officers face the realities of danger, violence, and trauma. They respond to critical incidents, witness life-threatening situations, and work in high-pressure environments.
They're exposed to intense stress and trauma which can affect their mental health in ways that are not always visible.
The Northwest Florida Health Network agency is taking a new approach to providing law enforcement with mental health resources. They've partnered with the Florida Certification Board to establish the Law Enforcement Peer Certification Program.
Force protection exercise underway at Naval Support Activity Panama City
'All the research shows that a lot of the trauma and just kind of getting through your day and getting through life, the most important support comes from your own group, people that are around you, what we call natural supports. So, if you've done the job, you understand the job, if you've been through the trauma, you understand the trauma,' Northwest Florida Health Network CEO Mike Watkins said.
The 50-hour program teaches law enforcement personnel about trauma, how to recognize it, how to effectively listen to peers, and how to react when someone expresses their passing a test, they're approved as a certified law enforcement peer.
'So, it's one thing to say, I want to help my peer. It's another thing to actually have the tools to do that,' Watkins said.
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The program has been offered across 17 Panhandle counties for a year. 49 people are in the program, and 21 are certified. Walton County, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Holmes, Franklin, and Liberty counties already have deputies that have completed the certification or are in the process.
'So, what Deputy Goings did in partnership with NWF is to reach out. Get this really exceptional level of training so that he can be there for his peers. This is literally peer support, but he's trained to do this,' Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said.
Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson says he hopes to see more of his deputies become peer-certified in the future.
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