The police in Sioux Falls is amongst the growing number of departments that use stuffed animals to comfort children in traumatic situations. The department recently got a big donation of stuffies thanks to a local business, KDLT News reports.
As part of their Customer Service Week, CNA Surety decided to do something to aid the emergency response teams. In previous years they have helped Habitat for Humanity and other organizations as well. This year, they focused on the Sioux Falls Police Department.
The company had gathered about 60 or so stuffed animals to give to the troopers. They already have a couple of stuffies in their cars to give out to children in need. “A lot of these situations aren’t always pleasant and so we’ve done, we’ve had bears in the past, different items, books, different things that we’ll do to just to try to make it a little easier for the kids,” officer Sam Clemens says. “Maybe it will help them realize that the officers really aren’t always a bad guy, that you know there’s a human side to them as well.”
Stuffed animals are known to help with depression and can have a positive effect for helping children cope with traumatic situations. This is why a lot of police and emergency teams already have stuffed animals in their response vehicles or are starting to carry stuffies in the vehicles.
