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Belmont church feeds police officers, promotes mental health

Gaston Gazette - 6/18/2020

Belmont Police officers working Wednesday afternoon didn't have to worry about buying lunch, thanks to The Pointe Church.

Brad Lowe believes recent events across the United States have drawn more attention to police officers, bringing more pressure to the job than before.

"There's a lot of negativity around police officers right now," Lowe said.

As The Pointe Church's impact pastor, it's Lowe's job to help spread local resources throughout his community. Lowe brought Will's on a Roll food truck (of Will's Doggn' It Deli and Dogs) to Belmont Police Department to not only feed officers free-of-charge, but to tell officers about SomeoneListened.com.

SomeoneListened.com, which is powered by Rev. Dwayne Burks' Resource Connection Gateway, connects people to free confidential counseling. There's no need to call an insurance provider for coverage and no need for anyone to know.

Lowe wants to rid the stigma of police officers seeing a counselor and normal mental health care.

"You need somewhere you can talk to talk about the frustrations you're having in your job," he continued, "with someone who's not going to tell your boss."

Belmont Police Capt. Jason Davis said being a police officer is inherently stressful. Coming home and connecting to his wife and daughter after a 12-plus hour day requires extra focus and attention.

"When they go home, sometimes it's hard to disconnect from the job," said Davis, who enjoyed one of Will's chicken burgers.

"Someone Listened gives them an outlet for not just their job but for their family life and personal things they may be going through."

Ideally, Belmont Police officers can also share SomeoneListened.com with people they interact with on the job, like victims of a domestic violence incident.

"It's an asset that they can provide to the community because if the community heals, then we all do better," Davis said.

You can reach Gavin Stewart at 704-869-1819 or on Twitter @GavinGazette.

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(c)2020 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

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