The Albany County Officer Wellness app covers a wide range of topics, from emotional and mental health, to nutrition, sleep, and trauma.

It’s been in use by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office for about a month now.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says he’s seen too many suicides.

“Most recently I had a trip down to Ulster County to attend another funeral after another suicide by a correction officer and I’m like gosh, maybe we should try to roll this app out for everybody in the county,” he said.

Now the app is available to all first responders in Albany County and their families.

The Albany County sheriff’s department crafted it with the help of a grant from the Office of Mental Health.

“Listen, I’ve been doing this a while. I can remember horrific scenes. As I tell everybody, you can go to that scene and maybe it won’t have an effect, but then maybe the next one leaves a little piece, and the next one another piece and another one and another one,” said the sheriff. “And the next thing you know, you’ve got PTSD, you’re having alcohol issues or family issues because you’re so stressed out over it.”

Sheriff Apple says it’s time to stop the stigma around getting help because people are dying.

He lost his own chief deputy to suicide a couple years ago.

The app has things like self-assessments, instructional videos, and a therapist finder.

These days, therapy can be done virtually, which is even more private than going to an office.

“It’s not just for the first responders, it’s for their families as well because you know what, they’re living with us. We’re coming home miserable or stressed out because of an incident,” said the sheriff. “That takes a toll on your family as well.”

The Officer Wellness app has sections on alcohol abuse, depression, family issues, suicide prevention, and even finances.

“Unfortunately, a lot of first responders are divorced because of hours and everything else or stressors. Then they run into financial problems. Eventually the financial problems become a burden and so you resort to something else. The next thing you know, you take your own life,” said Sheriff Apple. “Again, these folks are giving back to their community. They’re our first responders. They’re our first and sometimes last line of hope and we need to take better care of them.”

The app is now available to all first responders in Albany County and their families.

Anyone interested can email Contactsheriff@albanycounty.com or call 518-487-5440. After verification for a password and user name, you can access it confidentially.

But perhaps the most important thing is what the app has already done: one person was at a terrible tipping point, and just knowing the resources were available may have saved that life.