30 April 2021

Officers struggling from stress or mental health issues urged to use Curtis Palmer Program

Dorset Police officers who are struggling with stress or mental health issues have the opportunity to do a range of confidence-boosting outdoor activities, from wild camping to mountain walking, with the Curtis Palmer Program.

The Curtis Palmer Program is run by Pilgrim Bandits, a charity that looks after military and emergency services workers, and was set up in memory of Curtis Palmer, a police officer who had a brain tumour; the charity helped him fulfil his dying wish of doing a parachute jump.

The project’s aim is to help police officers and staff get back to work in a better place.

Dorset Police Federation Wellbeing Lead Sandra Rigby said the charity offered amazing opportunities, and that she had already signposted several officers to it.

She said: “The activities and adventures help with people’s wellbeing and often police officers need something quite practical to help them get through what they’re dealing with.

“They do things like cold water immersion therapy courses and expeditions out into the mountains where they learn bushcraft and woodland skills. There’s a retreat where you can do meditation, yoga, even fire walking, and it also helps you to meet other people who might be going through the same situations. It’s a good way to make friends and buddies.”

Sandra said the activities and courses were suitable for officers with a wide range of issues. She said: “It’s for people who are experiencing PTSD, or if they’ve been off from having an injury, if they’re burned out from the work, if they’ve got stuff going on in their family life like perhaps divorce or illness and they just need some time away to reset their brain and figure things out.

“So it can be fairly low level stuff, right up to the most extreme. And you can be referred in by someone in the police force or you can refer yourself in.”

Sandra said she had seen officers reap the benefits of what the Curtis Palmer Program offers and that it relied on donations and fundraising events so it didn’t cost too much money for officers who were struggling financially.

She said: “Some of the expeditions they go on would normally cost you lots of money [in the past there have been Himalayan treks; this year there’s a trek in Snowdonia]. But they take people on and sometimes they’ll say, ‘This would be the suggested donation’, but for the smaller ones there’s no obligation to donate.”

She added that some officers liked the fact that it was separate to the force and that they would meet officers from different forces.

If officers are interested they can get in touch with their Federation rep or contact the Curtis Palmer Program directly via their https://pilgrimbandits.org/events/curtis-palmer-program/or on https://www.facebook.com/Curtis-Palmer-Program-106891524367165/.