Bill > S1925

This bill, known as the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome (HERO) Act, aims to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers. The key provisions are: 1. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and maintain a data system called the Public Safety Officer Suicide Reporting System to collect data on suicide incidence among public safety officers, such as firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and public safety telecommunicators. The system will facilitate the study of interventions to reduce suicide among this population. 2. It authorizes the Secretary to award grants to eligible entities (nonprofit organizations) to establish or enhance peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies. 3. It directs the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to develop and make publicly available resources to educate mental health professionals about the culture, stressors, and common mental health issues faced by firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and their supervisors and leadership. 4. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and update evidence-based best practices and resources to identify, prevent, and treat post-traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers, and to make these resources available to relevant agencies.