FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department is still searching for a behavioral health counselor.
The department has now gone over a month without any mental health professionals on-site.
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Queen City News has been investigating the mental health struggles of retired and current CMPD officers for months and shed light on this issue with The Broken Blue. Shortly after QCN’s investigation, CMPD’s only psychologist, Dr. Nikki Vasilas, quit, as did another vital mental health resource at CMPD, Officer Shannon Finis.
Now Dr. Vasilas has settled into her new role as the head of the new Mental Wellness Program at the York County Sheriff’s Office. She says she’ll have more resources and support to ensure officers are physically and mentally well.
“My father was a first responder, and he was also in the military,” Vasilas said. “So I’ve got two of those kinds of colliding. My uncle was also a first responder.”
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Growing up around first responders, Vasilas witnessed what these men and women go through daily, leading her to her current career.
“I trained specifically with working with the law enforcement, first responder, and military communities,” Vasilas explained. “I just wanted to learn more about why we do the things we do, but specifically, what sets these special, amazing people apart?”
Queen City News’ Emma Withrow (left) speaks with Dr. Nikki Vasilas, psychologist for the new Mental Wellness Program at the York County Sheriff’s Office.
But after a few years at CMPD, its wellness program was shut down, and Dr. Vasilas decided to leave her post there and provide her services a bit further south, in York County.
“Dr. Nikki is my counselor,” said York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson. “At the conclusion of a counseling session, divine intervention occurred, and I kiddingly said, ‘Dr. Nikki, how do I get Dr. Nikki?’ And that morphed into us hiring her.”
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Tolson wasn’t always open about seeking mental health counseling and points out that the stigma is still entrenched throughout the law enforcement community.
“My career I grew up in the era of, I call it the ‘suck it up buttercup era,’” Tolson said. “‘Hey, sarge, that baby death I worked last week, I have a child the same age, and all I can see is that baby’s face; when I see my child,’ ‘man, we got a domestic you gotta take that call. Get over it.’”
And Sheriff Tolson, like many, had this mentality for years.
“Our major officer-involved shooting in 2018, we had four officers shot, one fatally, and I sucked it up,” he said. “And I had to lead this agency. And I had to lead them through an incredibly difficult time. I preached counseling, but I preached it as a hypocrite. Because eventually, I saw within myself, I eventually brought it to the forefront that I need counseling.”
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After that, he turned a page and hoped the rest of his officers would do the same.
Now Tolson and Vasilas are focusing on de-stigmatizing mental health counseling for officers.
“She has hit the ground running; we’re working her to death already,” Tolson said. “We’re looking for funding sources for an additional clinician. And, look, if I have to hire five, if I have to hire ten — whatever it is that I think that I need to do, god laid it upon my heart after 2018 that Kevin Tolson is going to be a sheriff, that looks out for his people.”
Dr. Vasilas left Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Tolson and Dr. Vasilas feel their new wellness program begins to answer the needs of officers, starting with dedicated peer support groups.
“Sometimes it’s easier for you to hear something from somebody that looks and experiences the same thing that you do on a daily basis,” Vasilas said.
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The York County Sheriff’s Office has an internal behavioral health team and a therapy dog program.
“I noticed when I do work with officers when they see me coming, sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, no, you know, I’m not going to talk to her.’” Vasilas said. “But if I’m coming with one of the dogs, it works every time.”
Those are the types of innovative methods she hopes to make a difference.
“At the end of the day, even if I never see the cultural shift, if we save one person’s life, if we save one person’s, you know, family, and relationships and things, that, to me, is worth it all.”
