THOMSON, Illinois – The union representing the correctional officers at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Thomson has made a $4,000 donation to address a crisis that too often goes unseen – officer suicide.
The American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070 (AFGE) announced recently a 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, AFGE said in a news release.
The Gray Matters Collective is a non-profit organization whose goals are to create mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Correctional officers face a suicide rate seven times higher than the general population, according to the union. In March 2023, after losing a colleague at Thomson Federal Prison to suicide, AFGE Local 4070 partnered with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), who introduced the Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act.
Co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline), 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,” Jon Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local 4070, said in the release. “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 helping make change. Twenty-four staff members have completed 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.
“We need to build an army of mental health advocates at Thomson and across the country,” Mr. Zumkehr added. “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.”
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, according to information cited by the union.
“We can no longer stand by and watch correctional officers protect our public, yet suffer from mental illness and suicidal ideation in silence,” Haley DeGreve, founder and president of The Gray Matters Collective, said in the release. “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.”
