Behind Arlington’s public safety employees and first responders are a pair of social workers supporting them through therapy and mental health services.
Donna Young and Leslie Geer joined the county as public safety wellness coordinators in 2023. Equipped with backgrounds in clinical social work, the duo spearheads employee wellness trainings, ensures agencies have adequate wellness policies and offers short-term therapy and mental health services.
“I think we’re just normalizing the idea that people struggle,” Geer told ARLnow. “It’s normal to struggle. It’s okay. It’s how you, kind of, respond to that struggle. It’s asking for help.”
The job includes meeting with first responders following traumatic events and tragedies, such as January’s mid-air crash and the 2023 house explosion in Bluemont. Emergency personnel experience significantly more traumatic experiences than the average person, Young said.
“That takes a toll on people,” she added. “Providing them with an outlet at work where they can get that support is really crucial for them to be able to have long, lasting careers.”
On a day-to-day basis, however, Young and Geer handle a wide range of responsibilities. Their schedules include Arlington County Police Department ride-alongs and visits to Arlington County Fire Department stations and the county jail.
It’s important to them that first responders don’t only view them them as clinical social workers.
“One of the goals that we have as an office is that we want people to see us as real people and not somebody that they don’t know or can’t recognize,” Geer said.
That goal requires building relationships. Despite offering psychological services and wading through heavy topics, Young and Geer emphasized that they like to bring lightheartedness and laughter to the job, whenever possible.
Still, they recognize that vulnerability and the topic of mental health can be met with stigma — especially in public safety careers where people often avoid being seen as vulnerable.
“In this field, we’re taught that we have to, you know, be tough,” Young said. “You have to put on, almost a mask, when you go into work, right?”
The duo hopes to keep chipping away at these conventions by encouraging employees to ask for help when needed. They also coordinate with chaplains and peer support groups in each agency if someone is not comfortable seeking therapy.
“Getting trust from people that it is a safe space to be able to speak to when you’re having a bad day, and having the ability to do that, to get through — it is really important,” Young said.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to expand their family program, which offers resources to new public safety recruits and their families. In the near future, they’d also like to welcome a therapy dog.
In the meantime, Young said they will “continue to do what we keep doing” — building relationships, normalizing mental health and understanding agencies’ challenges, one step at a time.
