Chicago's police superintendent says the department's efforts to help the city's officers deal with mental health challenges are starting to pay off.
When Superintendent Larry Snelling talks about the mental rigors of being a police officer on the street, he's speaking from experience of decades on the beat.
"The things that these officers see on a daily basis, the things that I've seen ... they stay with you forever," Snelling told aldermen during City Council budget hearings on Wednesday.
Recent numbers suggest that Chicago police officers struggle with those burdens more than their peers in other cities, and Snelling said he and his team have been working to help officers understand that they don't have to deal with those stresses alone.
"We want to take the stigma off the idea that going to get help is a weakness," the superintendent said, noting that the department has opened two new employee assistance officers on the North and South sides where officers can get help.
"There has been an uptick in officers reaching out," Snelling said. "That is a good sign."
And not, he noted, a sign that more officers are struggling with mental health.
Snelling also said private businesses and donors have been helping ease the psychic burden for officers -- by providing food and water during protests and other intense situations.
"We're moving in the right direction," he concluded. "We still have a lot of work."