Authored by Robert Matheny, Mayor of Bridgeport, W. Va. and advisor to the Bearing Advisors Prevent+Protect program
Early in my law enforcement career, I walked up to a door for what should have been a routine call. The door opened, and in an instant, the situation escalated into something life-threatening. I’m alive today because training took over. I did what I’d been trained to do, and it worked. But what I didn’t understand then is this: surviving the moment is only part of the story. My gear and my training protected my body. They did not prepare me for what came after mentally.
Key Takeaways for City Leaders
- Critical incidents don’t end when the scene is cleared — many first responders carry the impact for weeks and months and longer.
- Cities invest heavily in physical protection; mental safety still isn’t treated with the same strategy or urgency.
- Earlier, proactive support is practical: it reduces downstream costs tied to turnover, overtime, disability claims and lost experience.
In the days and weeks after that incident, there were protocols: reports, debriefs, required retellings and administrative steps designed to restore normal operations. I followed them like I always did, dutifully and professionally.
Looking back, I can see how checked out I really was. Every retelling pulled me right back into that moment. All my training had prepared me to handle the danger in front of me. What I didn’t have were the skills to process what happened and release it, especially when the job required me to revisit it again and again.
Colleen Hilton, Founder and CEO of AlliConnect, explains why this is so common:
“First responders are trained to respond tactically in the moment, but rarely are they as well-trained on how to process and ultimately release the situation psychologically. Without that release, the trauma stays unprocessed, so the incident never truly moves into the past.”
It’s been years since the day I first needed a bulletproof vest. In that time, cities have improved safety equipment and training in meaningful ways. But in too many communities, investment in mental safety hasn’t kept pace.
That gap reflects two truths city leaders already understand, and one they can’t ignore:
- Cities understand physical risk, and they invest accordingly.
- Psychological risk is harder to see, so it’s easier to postpone.
- Postponed doesn’t mean avoided, the impact shows up later in budgets, staffing and performance.
When cities don’t invest upstream, they often pay downstream: overtime and backfill, recruitment and training, increased sick time, early retirements, disability claims and the erosion of trust and performance inside an agency. First responders aren’t interchangeable line items. They’re highly trained professionals whose judgment and institutional knowledge cannot be replaced once lost.
The good news is that improving resilience is both doable and measurable. It doesn’t require cities to “turn everyone into clinicians.” It requires a smarter approach: normalize support, remove stigma, make access confidential and easy and treat mental wellness like routine maintenance, not emergency repair.
About Robert and Colleen’s Work with Wellness
Bearing Advisors is a team of seasoned professionals with over 250 years of combined experience in municipal government who are dedicated to delivering solutions that empower local governments.
Robert Matheny is a lifelong law enforcement professional, two-term Sheriff and currently Mayor of his hometown, Bridgeport, W. Va. He is also an advisor to the Bearing Advisors Prevent+Protect program, an NLC-endorsed partner, which offers an innovative approach to making proactive wellness accessible and affordable. Learn more about Matheny and his work (PDF).
Colleen Hilton and her company, AlliConnect, are partnered with the Prevent+Protect program as the mental health solution provider. Their focus addresses the interconnectivity of physical, mental and financial wellness and proactive versus reactive mental health detection, prevention and care. Learn more about Hilton and her work.
Visit the NLC Strategic Partnerships page to learn more about the organizations like Bearing Advisors dedicated to making NLC the premier resource for local governments.
Upcoming Webinar
Register now for the NLC-hosted Prevent+Protect webinar on Feb. 19, 2026 from 2 – 3 PM ET. In this session, the Prevent+Protect team will explore the themes highlighted in this blog and how they relate to a municipal strategy for overall wellness.
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