FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 03, 2025
September 03, 2025
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
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Union Local Representing Federal Correctional Officers Launches Initiative to Combat Officer Suicide
Categories:
BOP
AFGE Local 4070 partners with The Gray Matters Collective to support Bureau of Prisons officers and their families
THOMSON, Ill. – The union representing federal correctional officers at FCI Thomson is taking bold action to address a crisis that too often goes unseen: officer suicide.
American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070 announced today a $4,000 donation to The Gray Matters Collective, funding critical mental health support for correctional officers and their families in the local community. The union also held its second annual Suicide Prevention Awareness Walk, reinforcing its commitment to breaking the silence around mental health in corrections.
Correctional officers face a suicide rate seven times higher than the general population. In March 2023, after losing a colleague at Thomson Federal Prison to suicide, AFGE Local 4070 partnered with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who introduced the Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act. Cosponsored by Rep. Eric Sorensen, the bill aims to bring urgently needed mental health resources to those on the front lines. Both representatives have spoken on the House floor, highlighting the trauma correctional officers endure and the lack of available support.
“This partnership represents more than a donation—it's a commitment to breaking the silence around mental health in corrections,” said Jon Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local 4070. “We have lost far too many lives to suicide, and I have seen it firsthand. Our time is now to address this crisis.”
The union’s partnership with The Gray Matters Collective is already bringing real change. Twenty-four staff members have completed ASSIST suicide prevention training. Large 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline signs have been installed at the sallyport so staff see them every day, while magnets with local mental health resources now appear in every officer station and on every fridge. In September 2024, the union held its first suicide prevention walk at Thomson Federal Prison, bringing in local support organizations. With The Gray Matters Collective, the union has launched a support group for first responders and correctional officers — staffed by a licensed therapist — to provide a safe space for healing.
But union leaders say they can’t do it alone. “We need to build an army of mental health advocates at Thomson and across the country,” Zumkehr said. “We need Congress to step up. We need the Bureau of Prisons to step up. We need our leaders to do more than just say they care. We are sick and tired of people saying they care but never showing up.”
The challenges are stark. Correctional officers routinely encounter severe workplace stressors: unpredictable shifts, mandatory overtime, high-risk situations, and what experts call “corrections fatigue.” Over a 20-year career, the average first responder experiences more than 800 traumatic or critical incidents, and correctional officers see rates of PTSD and suicide far higher than police or even military veterans. Many work six or seven days a week, with shifts extending up to 16 hours due to chronic staffing shortages.
“We can no longer stand by and watch correctional officers protect our public, yet suffer from mental illness and suicidal ideation in silence,” said Haley DeGreve, founder and president of The Gray Matters Collective. “We must dismantle first responder mental health stigma, work to get first responders stronger care, and help them understand it's okay not to be okay—there are resources to aid healing!”
AFGE District 7 National Vice President Jason Anderson added, “As a union, AFGE recognizes that prioritizing the mental health of our correctional officers is not just a moral responsibility, it is a critical necessity. These officers often serve under extraordinary pressure and in environments that take a real toll on their well-being. Improving access to mental health resources and destigmatizing the need for help are essential to protecting their safety, supporting their families, and sustaining the effectiveness of our federal correctional system overall.”
For many correctional officers, the reality is a culture of silence. They are told that “it’s just part of the job”— even when that means facing sexual harassment, assault, or unaddressed trauma. Admitting to struggling with mental health can mean risking their job. “So we keep it in, we drink too much, our relationships fall apart, and we die by suicide at higher rates than police officers,” Zumkehr said. “Think about that: correctional officers are more likely to die by suicide than police officers, but we’re largely left out of mental health initiatives for first responders.”
The statistics are grim. Life expectancy for correctional officers is 16 years shorter than the general public. National data from the Vera Institute of Justice shows that depression, PTSD, and suicide rates among correctional officers exceed those of police and even military veterans. In 2023, the Government Accountability Office put the federal prison system on its “high-risk” list due to chronic staffing shortages and dangerous working conditions.
Overtime is constant, and the risk just gets higher. A recent Washington State study found that prison employees have PTSD rates on par with combat veterans, while research from Desert Waters Correctional Outreach shows corrections officers suffer PTSD at more than double the rate of military veterans.
“There’s a culture of silence around suicide and mental health in corrections,” Zumkehr said. “We’re told that ‘correctional officers can never be weak.’ That stigma is killing us. We shouldn’t have to learn about suicide from suicide itself.”
AFGE National President Everett Kelley praised the initiative:
“Our correctional officers face some of the most dangerous and traumatic conditions in federal service, yet too often, their mental health is overlooked,” Kelley said. “I want to commend AFGE Local 4070 for their courageous and compassionate leadership in launching this initiative. By breaking the silence around suicide and mental health, they are not only saving lives—they are reshaping the culture of corrections. This is the kind of union-led advocacy our country needs, and AFGE stands firmly behind them in this life-saving work.”
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