RALEIGH — Police officers risk their lives everyday to protect others. When they walk out their doors in the morning, many leave families behind who wait every day with the kind of stress most will never know.

It's hard to imagine what it's like being a police officer's spouse. Because of that, many wives and husbands feel they have no one to turn to in a time of crisis, or when they need to talk. That's why officers' spouses formed the Raleigh Police Department Family Support Group last September.

Group co-founder Karen Lee says they are always wondering.

Fears that the spouse may never return home is a common fear among officers' spouses who meet monthly as members of the Raleigh group. But the meetings are not all about fears and worrying. Often, members share cooking and other ideas, because they want to develop bonds that exist whether there is a crisis or not.

Group member Judy Jackson says they used to only see each other when something bad happened.

Law enforcement officers' children are also included in the fun of the support group. Lee says children are greatly affected by stress just as adults are.

One might assume the group has had many discussions about the recent string of officers killed in the line of duty, but it hasn't. Members say they concentrate on having a network in place if something like this happens again.

Right now the group is only for spouses of Raleigh police officers, and it already has more than 50 members.