Tell Congress to Pass the HERO Act to Address Public Safety Behavioral Health

September 21, 2021

The Helping Emergency Responders Overcome (HERO) Act (H.R. 1480/S. 2700) establishes a series of programs to address public safety behavioral health issues. These include the following.

• Establishes a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs at fire departments and EMS agencies.
• Directs the U.S. Fire Administration, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, to develop and make publicly available resources to be used by the federal government and other entities to educate mental health professionals about the unique behavioral health issues that firefighters and EMS personnel face.
• Establishes a system for collecting data on suicide deaths of public safety officers.

The House of Representatives passed the HERO Act in May, but the Senate has yet to act on it. You can use the NVFC’s Legislative Action Center to send a message to your U.S. Senators asking them to cosponsor the HERO Act.