Tewksbury First Responders Will Continue Equestrian Therapy Program

TEWKSBURY, MA — A recent donation from the Tewksbury/Wilmington Elks Lodge #2070 will allow Tewksbury Police Department and Tewksbury Fire Department personnel to continue participating in a local equestrian therapy program, the Wilmington PD announced this week.

The program takes place at Tewksbury's Strongwater Farm Therapeutic Equestrian Center, located at 500 Livingston St.

The mission of the center, according to its website, is to enhance and enrich lives by providing education, physical activity, social opportunities and emotional support to clients through equine-assisted activities and services.

This past summer, with the help of a grant from the Hidden Battles Foundation, the Wilmington PD was able to send six officers to participate in a six-week officer wellness pilot program at Strongwater Farms.

The program called Caring for the Caregiver Equine Program for First Responders was designed to help officers learn self-awareness, the importance of physical and wellness care and healthy self-expression, while beginning to identify the skills needed to build resilience and cope with stress.

During the program, participants attended weekly 90-minute sessions which included hands-on experiences and activities with horses and time for self-reflection.

Maria Antonioni, executive director of Strongwater Farm, explained why such programs are important, especially for first responders.

"Our healthcare professionals and first responders experience or witness life-threatening or traumatic events as a part of the normal day on the job, Antonioni said. "Strongwater Farm created the Caring for the Caregiver Program to relieve compassion fatigue and burnout from chronic workplace stress and exposure during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic."

At the time of the summer pilot program, Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus said it's important for law enforcement to be proactive when it comes to officers' mental health.

"For too long, our profession has stigmatized officers needing mental health assistance, Columbus said. "Although changes have been made in recent years, we need to be able to utilize programs like these and have funding available to care for our first responders."

Columbus continued: "The things we see can have an adverse effect on all of us if we don't have the skills to cope and understand that 'it's ok to not be ok.' Imagine seeing and responding to everyone's worst moments for 30 years. If we ensure we take care of our officers, the community will benefit from officers performing at their best."