POPPA: Peer Support at the NYPD

PAPPA HELPLINES

Active NYPD Officers: 1-888-COPS-COP (1-888-267-7267)

NYPD Retirees: 1-800-599-1085

If you're struggling, don't wait until things become a crisis. Reach out.

Episode 152 - POPPA: Peer Support at the NYPD

Police officers are trained to respond when everyone else is having the worst day of their lives. But where does the officer go when the person struggling is the one behind the badge?

In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver talks with Thomas Hovagim and Louis Lopez from POPPA—Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance, a peer-based nonprofit organization serving NYPD officers and retirees.

POPPA provides officers with something that can be difficult to find inside traditional systems: an opportunity to talk confidentially with another police officer who understands the culture, pressures, schedules, trauma, and personal costs of the profession.

Tom and Louis explain what actually happens when an officer calls their helpline, why confidentiality matters so much, and how trained peers can become a bridge between a struggling officer and professional clinical care.

Louis also shares his own experience recognizing that years of exposure to violence were taking a toll on him—and why he decided to seek therapy himself.

The conversation explores the cumulative impact of police work: critical incidents, sleep deprivation, unhealthy coping mechanisms, relationship stress, missed family events, alcohol use, and the challenge of moving from a traumatic scene directly back into family life.

Tom also shares the story of officers involved in a shooting who worked together every day afterward—but had never talked to each other about what happened until POPPA brought them together for a debriefing.

Their message to officers is straightforward: "You don't have to carry this alone. Make the Damn call."

Thomas Hovagim is a retired NYPD detective and currently serves as Director of POPPA

Louis Lopez is an NYPD detective and POPPA Peer Support Officer.

Learn more about POPPA at https://poppanewyork.org

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