After Sept. 11, 2001, William Meytrott started putting in more time on the telephones a lot more.
By John Tredrea
When Sept. 11, 2001 came, the Law Enforcement Intervention Hotline was one of the countless organizations that stepped up and did a lot more work than they usually did.
Staffed by retired police officers and counselors trained to respond to the needs of police officers and those close to them, the hotline takes calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It offers confidential help and referrals to individuals in the law enforcement community having problems that can cause depression, anxiety, stress, tension, trauma or other disorders.
After Sept. 11, the hotline expanded its operations dramatically, taking calls from anyone who needed help regarding Sept. 11 in addition to its regular load of calls. Like other hotline volunteers, Pennington Police Director William Meytrott started putting in more time on the telephones a lot more.
For his efforts, Mr. Meytrott has received the Governor’s Volunteerism Award. He was notified of the award in a letter from Ida Castro, commissioner of the state Department of Personnel. The letter was read aloud at a recent Pennington Borough Council meeting by Councilwoman Nancy Ross.
In her letter to Mr. Meytrott, who retired a chief of the Raritan Township Police Department, before becoming Pennington’s police director in April 1998. Ms. Castro said of his efforts in taking calls from individual with problems related to Sept. 11:
"The assistance provided by you . . . truly went beyond the call of duty. Staffing the hotline from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week was an extraordinary effort that could not have been accomplished without the willing participation of volunteers like you. I can only imagine the tremendous burden that you generously accepted by listening to and debriefing thousands of individuals traumatized by the events of Sept. 11."
Mr. Meytrott said the hotline was formed about three years ago "by just a few guys. It’s grown quite a bit. We helped handle the overflow of Sept. 11-related calls. We’re back to normal now, taking only calls from the law enforcement community."
While taking the Sept. 11 calls, Mr. Meytrott worked at a hotline center in Edison three or four days a week. "The Borough Council was very good about adjusting my work schedule here in Pennington so that I could work at the center," he said.
Director Meytrott had to take many hours of training before beginning work as a hotline volunteer. The hotline that began as the brainchild of a few retired police officers has gained official status, as a partnership between the state Department of Personnel and the Behavioral Healthcare Division of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

