Alachua 10-42 Strong: Families Supporting Law Enforcement

Photo Special to Alachua County Today

Alachua 10-42 members recently painted a message of support for law enforcement officers on Gainesville's 34th Street wall. Words "Back the Blue" and a red heart symbolize the group's dedication to the law enforcement community.

ALACHUA COUNTY – As Gainesville Police Department Officer Bobby White demonstrated in January when he responded to a noise complaint about a group of boys playing basketball by joining them for a game, officers often break negative stereotypes by showing empathy and compassion.

Alachua 10-42 is a group that seeks to emphasize this human aspect to law enforcement officers. Made up of spouses and family members of officers, the group strives to provide emotional support, resources, community activities and outreach for their families.

One of their most recent activities included painting on Gainesville’s 34^th Street with a solid blue line against a black background, marked with the words “Back the Blue” and a heart in the corner that read “10-42.”

Shonta Bertzyk, a member of Alachua 10-42, said the group has also supported GoFundMe pages for two officers who were recently diagnosed with cancer.

The group evolved from a desire and a need for families to come together and decompress by sharing anything that people needed to get off their chests, Bertzyk said.

“When we talk about officers, the first line of defense is at the home,” she said. “And just being there for them and talking to them and being a support just helps officers’ morale. These officers go out and they deal with situations such as emergency services, trauma, car accidents [and] child abuse cases. They see things that the average community member does not.”

She said officers’ wives also realized that they needed each other to lend a hand in caring for each other's children or providing transportation.

“We do whatever we can for each other,” she said. “I think [the start of the group] was very organic and it was a very much-needed support system.”

Lindsay Howell said she’s been in Alachua 10-42 for about two months.

On March 14, she and several group members went to cheer their husbands during a charity basketball game at Gainesville High School between deputies and students.

Howell said she liked that the event gave the opportunity for officers to interact with students and cast them in a more approachable light rather than as people to be feared.

“It’s really brought to light that these are normal guys, with families and kids,” she said. “They have histories and pasts of being young kids themselves. And I think that’s been an eye-opener for the community to see that they’re just normal guys who love to do what they do.”

Howell said the group has received support from the Alachua Woman’s Club, and she gave a presentation about Alachua 10-42 to the Alachua City Commission on Monday to continue to spread the word about the group.

“Alachua is so supportive of our police officers there,” Howell said. “I think we’re at an advantage and would like to get the word out as much as possible to get the support and just have people feel like they’re part of the group and part of the community.”

Ashley Dykes, another member, said the group has connected people who otherwise may not have known each other or met due to differing schedules, shifts, rotations or departments.

“[Alachua 10-42] has been an opportunity to build friendships and relationships,” she said. “We have monthly meetings where we discuss things we can do within the community, or discuss events that we can do within our group. So I capture all of that for the group and get it out to our Facebook page.”

The outreach of the group has not just been limited to Alachua County or Gainesville. Dykes said she recently visited an out-of-town officer who was being treated at Shands.

She decided to stop by to introduce herself to the family of the officer, and she was informed that they were in need of a notary.

Dykes said she passed the word along to other members of Alachua 10-42 and was able to get a notary for the family.

Alachua 10-42 will hold the 1^st Annual Alachua County Night in Blue Gala on Sunday, May 15 at 6 p.m. at the Mustang Hangar at the University Air Center.

Tickets can be purchased via a link on the group’s official website, alachua1042.org.

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