Waxahachie receives grant to fund mental health program for first responders

First responders often handle calls that are considered routine in nature and handled within a few minutes.

But then there are calls that are so traumatic they can leave a lingering impact on even the most experienced first responders.

Michael McCorkle, a retired officer from the Waxahachie Police Department, knows that all too well.

McCorkle was one of the WPD officers who investigated the death of 7-month-old Valeria Sierra, who died in December of 2021 from injuries she received from her father Jose Sierra.   

According to county records an autopsy revealed that Valeria had multiple broken bones, including broken clavicles and several fractures on her leg, as well as several bruises and hemorrhages all over her body.

Jose Sierra was arrested after an investigation, and on Sept. 28, 2023, an Ellis County jury convicted him of injury to a child and sentenced him to life in prison. His wife, Alma Mata, is charged with endangering/abandoning a child for failure to seek medical attention following the injuries. Her trial is set for March 5.

McCorkle said he had been considering retirement for a while, but he said traumatic cases like the Sierra case expedited his decision.

At the time of his retirement McCorkle and other first responders had a place to turn when they needed help addressing their mental health. Waxahachie’s police and fire departments were part of the First Responder Resiliency Coalition (FRRC), formerly the First Responder Resiliency Program. The FRRC, which encompassed nine agencies from North Texas, provided a number of services, including peer-to-peer support, critical incident response and counseling services. 

“The FRRC was beneficial for myself and others working to emotionally process the trauma related to the investigation,” said McCorkle, who added that these types of programs weren’t available when he began his career 20 years ago. “Because of the FRRC trained peer-to-peer personnel within the police department, I had an outlet to discuss any issues or problems associated with the traumatic event.”

McCorkle said the staff from FRRC and other veteran first responders who assisted in the after-incident meeting helped remove emotional barriers that can be difficult to process alone.

“Moving forward, those first responders involved in the incident benefited from knowing the signs and symptoms of exposure to a traumatic event and the available resources through the FRRC program,” McCorkle said. 

But earlier this year funding stopped for the FRRC. Knowing the importance of addressing mental health for first responders, leaders from the Waxahachie police, fire and emergency management departments worked to secure a grant for a similar program.

At its Oct. 16 meeting the Waxahachie City Council voted to accept a grant from the Victims of Crime Act (V.O.C.A) that will provide a mental health program for first responders and their families.

Through the $105,300 grant Waxahachie first responders and their families can have access to immediate, short-term and follow-up care, and it includes preventative and responsive mental health services.

This is not a matching grant, so the city won’t have to pay anything for it.

Police Chief Joe Wiser said the city has begun the request for proposals (RFP) process to select the vendor. He said the council could vote on a vendor at its Nov. 6 meeting.

“What we’re going to ask for is for professionals to be able to respond in a mental health crisis,” Wiser said. “Let’s say we have something very traumatic that happens that involves first responders. They can come in and provide assistance in the immediate, but also for the long-term counseling for first responders and their families for things they face here.”

Wiser said the program will also offer preventative steps through seminars and training to help first responders be better prepared for things they face in the line of duty.  

Wiser said these types of grants are important as agencies across the country are focusing more on taking care of first responders’ mental health.

“In public service for years the thought of mental health services was always something on the backburner,” Wiser said. “There’s a sea change in our industry that is pushing that to the forefront. But wanting that and the best means to obtain that sometimes are two different things. This grant, we’re excited about the potential for what that could mean for us and how it could help our people better deal with things that they face on a regular, routine basis.”

McCorkle said he is happy to see Waxahachie first responders have access to a new mental health program, saying the FRRC was important for him during his career.

“The Sierra case and others are good examples of why we want programs like the FRRC for our personnel,” McCorkle said.

“As a profession, we create a lot of programs to protect the public,” McCorkle said, “but we can’t forget to put measures in place to protect the men and women in uniform.”