ABOUT BLUE HOPE
Blue HOPE (Helping Out Police Everywhere) is a not for profit organisation and registered Australian charity that provides support services for current and former Australian police officers and their families.
Blue HOPE was established with the aim of providing an independent, confidential source of support for current and former police officers from around Australia. As veteran police officers themselves, the Directors were familiar with the lack of support and negative stigma experienced by current police officers dealing with mental health issues. In many cases, police experiencing mental health problems are reluctant to turn to internal support mechanisms out of fear of being bullied, marginalised and in many cases managed out of the police service.
Police officers leave the service due to regular retirement, medical condition or to pursue another career. Many of these men and women experience significant distress and often experience the delayed onset of a range of problems arising from their police service. In the absence of any post career support, many are left struggling to find purpose, suffering from severe mental health issues including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), addiction, family breakdown, financial problems and loneliness.
Blue HOPE commenced public operations by virtue of a Facebook page and experienced immediate traction. On the day the page became active, the Directors directly prevented a former police officer from taking his own life in Queensland. By February 2015, we had assisted 50 clients. We became a registered Australian Charity in July 2015 and by at the present time we have assisted about 4000 current and former police officers from around Australia. Currently we service clients purely through the volunteer efforts of a small group of current and former police officers in every state of Australia and the demand for our services increases daily.
Blue HOPE is like no other organisation. As former serving police officers ourselves, we know that police are often reluctant to turn to internal supports for a variety of reasons. We are also aware of the challenges that men and women face after they leave the police service.
Our Aims
- To improve mental health support systems for current and former police officers throughout Australia.
- To educate the police community about career-related mental health issues and raise community awareness regarding mental health problems faced by police officers.
- To improve mental health outcomes for police officers by providing an anonymous and independent alternative to existing support systems.
- To provide active support for current and former Police Officers and their families who are suffering because of physical illness, mental illness or addiction.
- To reduce the number of suicides of current and former police officers and minimise the effects of suicide on serving and former police officers, their families, friends and the general community.
- To facilitate scientific research aimed at quantifying and reducing the prevalence of suicide among current and former police officers.
All donations received by Blue HOPE go directly to providing and expanding our range of services.
