Tourist Safety Institute Launches Program to Support Emotional Wellness in First Responders

A new program designed by the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute is helping Nevada Highway State Patrol employees focus on their social and emotional wellness. 

Law enforcement officers are learning skills in mindfulness, emotional regulation, attention control, and maintaining effective interpersonal relationships. The goal is to help them improve their health, operational performance, and abilities to manage challenging situations as first responders.

Researchers from the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute within the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs designed the emergency responder resilience program, which began training troopers in August. 

Nevada State Police Highway Patrol was the first agency to partner with UNLV on the program. Troopers voluntarily signed up for the in-person training, which will be conducted over a period of eight weeks. 

George Togliatti, director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, said the partnership was both practical and perfectly timed. His department started a wellness and resiliency program last year to assist employees as they deal with the complexities of their jobs.

“[Our officers] are in an interesting profession, and it is a challenging profession where they are exposed to tragedy and trauma and negative things in life,” Togliatti said. 

“UNLV brings all kinds of expertise and passion — people with fire in the belly to help people.” 

The UNLV TSI training is one way to address the stigma associated with getting help for one’s mental health, Togliatti said. According to the Centers for Disease Control, emergency responders can experience burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Stress prevention and self-care can help emergency responders cope with the demands of their jobs.

“The TSI (Tourist Safety Institute) is, I think, has all the potential in the world. It’s a great concept. Wellness and well-being — it’s just one part of it,” Togliatti said. 

Improving Well-Being

The emergency responders resilience program at UNLV is customized to each profession. Togliatti says he would like parole and probation officers to engage in the program, as well. 

Steven Pace, a former FBI hostage negotiator, and an assistant professor-in residence of criminal justice at UNLV, said he benefited from similar mindfulness interventions himself and is encouraging other first-responders to sign up for the program. 

“Law enforcement officers are subject to chronic stress as a function of the unique demands of their profession,” Pace said. “This is something that will not slow you down. What it is designed to do is to make you more present in the moment so that you’re able to be more situationally aware and make better decisions. It gives law enforcement officers another tool in their toolbelt to have a more productive, happy, and healthy life.” 

Mindfulness is much more than deep breathing videos trending on social media. 

Participants are learning about how various stimuli can enter the mind, and how to regulate emotions, thoughts, physical sensations, or behavioral urges to appropriately focus on the present, according to Nicholas Barr, an assistant professor in the UNLV School of Social Work. 

Barr and Pace are both on the team teaching the program.

Barr reviews how mindfulness can help participants enhance interpersonal relationships with colleagues, family, and friends.

“Neuroscience research shows us that exposure to prolonged stress can produce negative effects impacting physical, mental, and social health,” said Barr, who has done extensive research on the success of mindfulness practices  with veterans.

Benefits to the Community 

In addition to serving nearly 3 million residents, agencies address the safety needs of the 40.8 million visitors who come to Las Vegas annually. 

Being able to respond swiftly to the needs of residents and tourists alike in a 24-hour town can present unique challenges for emergency responders, said Joel Lieberman, a professor of criminal justice who helped design the emergency responder resilience program.

That’s where the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute comes in. 

“It’s about the community,” said Lieberman. “Participants will be able to use the tools they learn in the program to support community members experiencing highly stressful and emotionally charged reactions to situations. Ultimately, the program is designed to provide 21st century police officers with 21st century science-based tools,” said Lieberman. “This program can help reduce the possibility of absenteeism and employee turnover.” 

Safety Solutions

Leading the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute is an interdisciplinary team of faculty from the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. Faculty researchers in social work, public policy, criminal justice, communication studies, and journalism are working on several research projects looking into four core research areas: infrastructure, safety, security, and health.  

Other research projects underway are exploring: 

• Tourists’ perceptions of safety
• What policy decisions that can be made to positively impact community safety and security
• How heat-related illnesses affect visitors and residents alike
•  Intergovernmental collaboration around large scale events like F1

The UNLV Tourist Safety Institute was approved by the Nevada Legislature last June.

Gov. Joe Lombardo, former sheriff of Clark County, noted, “UNLV’s Tourist Safety Institute is a collaboration within the public and private sectors developing and sharing myriad practices that increase public safety and enhance community partnerships.” 

Nevada Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, added, “The UNLV’s Tourist Safety Institute is on the forefront of innovative practices and policies for the protection and safety of our Nevada tourists as well as our communities. The Wellness – Mindfulness program not only provides emotional support for our first responders, but also extends to fostering relationships between law enforcement and the community,” 

Part of the College Mission 

Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in the Tourist Safety Institute’s research and community engagement programs. It’s one way they apply their knowledge to develop solutions to real-life challenges, said Rob Ulmer, dean of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.

But the program is just one way the college is preparing the current and future workforce for the challenges they will face.

“Our faculty have been leading a resilience-based learning curriculum at our undergraduate and graduate education levels across all of the schools and departments,” Ulmer said. 

For example, students in the college’s undergraduate courses (GSC 100, which is called Urban Pathways, and GSC 300, known as Urban Adventure) learn about social and emotional wellness and how to build skills over the course of their academic time at UNLV.  

Ulmer cites A 2020 “Future of Jobs 2020” report published by the World Economic Forum, which states the “most in-demand skills of the future will include working with people, problem-solving, and self-management skills such as resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.”

Employers are increasingly seeking employees who have resilience-based skills, Ulmer said. “We are preparing a new generation of employees who are willing to adapt to change, understand the benefits of stress tolerance, and what communities need in order to function and be successful,” said Ulmer. “When students come to the College of Urban Affairs, we see emotional and social wellness as a foundation to ultimately be successful in their professional and personal lives.”

Partner with the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute

The researchers for the Emergency Resilience Training program are: Joel D. Lieberman, professor; Nicholas Barr, assistant professor of social work; Steven Pace, assistant professor-in-residence of criminal justice; Milia Heen, assistant professor of public policy and leadership; and Tanya Dudinskaya, graduate student student in criminal justice.

Agencies interested in partnering with the UNLV Tourist Safety Institute can email [email protected].