Brookline Police Officer Starts LGBTQ+ Support Program

BROOKLINE, MA — It's a common scenario: Someone calls 911 to report yelling at a nearby home. The dispatcher categorizes it as a domestic dispute. An officer then is sent to check it out, to see if law enforcement really is needed, to possibly to act as mediator — or often just to give resources such as phone numbers or emails that people can call for specific, trained help.

On a recent day, when Officer Kristin Healy, who has been in the Brookline Police Department since 2010, arrived at a home after a report of yelling, she found a teenage girl arguing with her parents.

And right away, she said, she realized two things.

One was that the girl was struggling with her own identity, and the other was that Healy, as an openly gay woman on the police department, didn’t have any idea of who could help.

Police have for years been helping point those in abusive situations toward places to get help. They also have a list of resources to help people in mental health crises. But there is nothing like that to help a teen struggling with whether to come out.

It struck a chord with Healy. So, in an effort to help the community, she's researched resources and is reaching out to help anyone who wants it.

How common?

This was not the first time Healy responded to calls related to behavioral issues. Healy, who is a member of the department's Walk and Talk Unit, said she has seen similar arguments erupt, or where young people run away, undergo bullying, develop depression and even try to kill themselves.

"Not always, but a lot of times it's something that concerns LGBTQ+," she said in an interview.

So, late last month, Healy started to research ways to help in future calls like that of the teen's fight with her parents.

She found that 1 in 6 Generation Z adults between 18 and 23 years old identified themselves as gay, according to a February Gallop poll. And that number is on the rise, the poll reported. But even some 50 years after the Stonewall riots between police and gay rights activists in New York that cemented the gay rights movement, it doesn't come easy.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24, and youth who identify as gay seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth, according to the Trevor Project.

LGBTQ+ Liaison

Then Healy said she found out that a few police departments in Massachusetts have what's called an LGBTQ Police Liaison, or task force.

The idea is to educate the community as well as police officers, many of whom are members of the LGBTQ+ community, or have family members that identify as members, with resources. Healy took the idea to command staff and asked for permission to take on the role.

They gave her the green light.

She also wanted to make her name and direct number known to the community. That way, anyone in need of police services — but was worried an officer wouldn't understand the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity — could call and know an officer on the other end of the line, and, hopefully trust that she will understand, the department said.

'I Just Want People To Know I'm Here'

So far, Healy has collected two pages of resources, has talked with the organizers of the schools' gay/straight alliances, and helped connect them. She has helped the department add a "nonbinary" box to check on police reports, where only "male" or "female" were offered before. She's also working to make sure the department is up to date on terminology and law to enable it to be as open and inclusive as possible, she said.

Healy stresses that although the issue is one close to her heart, she doesn't want to insert herself where she isn't wanted, and just wants to listen to what the community needs and let that input grow the program in the months to come.

"I just want people to be able to access the help that they need, and know that there’s someone there," she said. "I don’t want there to be a barrier, especially since the history with police and the gay community has been dicey. Stonewall was only 50 years ago. And 50 years ago is a really long time but also a short time."

She said if it weren't for Stonewall, and the trans women of color who stood up to the police during those riots, she would not have been able to marry her wife in 2017 or have two children with her.

"The police department in general has changed dramatically in 50 years," she said. "There’s a mistrust between police and the community, however we got there, but I don’t want to be a barrier to those who need help through the police department. I just want people to know that I exist, and I’m here if they need help. I’m here to learn and listen and help if I can."

Heath Principal Dr. Asa Sevelius, who was the first school administrator come out as transgender in the state, said he saw it as critical that any agency committed to the work of improving outcomes for all people be able to foster the safest of spaces for its LGBTQ citizens.

"The most cursory historical overview demonstrates a contentious, very often violent, relationship between the police and the LGBTQ community," Sevelius said. "If Brookline could be a place that recognizes this legacy and resulting generational tensions – and then actively works to repair it – we could be a model for other communities to learn from. That work will be exhausting; I wholeheartedly wish Officer Healy the very best in her efforts."

People can call Brookline Police LGBTQ+ Liaison Officer Kristin Healy at 617-730-2781 or email kmhealy@brooklinema.gov.