First Responders Wellness Act
The First Responders Wellness Act would create a new national mental health support system specifically for first responders and their families. Key provisions include: (1) establishing a dedicated First Responders Mental Health Hotline that operates 24/7 and connects to the existing 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, with specialized staffing by first responder peer specialists or first responder mental health providers; (2) requiring the hotline to offer real-time voice and text support, direct referrals, and culturally competent, trauma-informed care tailored to first responders; (3) directing ongoing coordination with existing crisis hotlines, public awareness campaigns, and federal agencies; (4) authorizing $10 million annually from 2025 through 2031 to operate and improve the hotline; (5) expanding crisis counseling eligibility to emergency response providers assisting in major disasters and launching a separate mobile on-site crisis service study and plan. Overall, the bill aims to improve access to mental health, substance use, and counseling services for first responders and their families, and to strengthen disaster-era on-site mental health response.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a national First Responders Mental Health Hotline to provide peer support, information, brief intervention, and referrals to first responders and their families, with a separate, recognizable number that can transfer calls from the 988 Lifeline.
- 2Hotline staffing and capabilities: must be staffed 24/7 with culturally competent first responder peer specialists or first responder mental health providers trained on first responder duties, stressors, confidentiality, and related issues; offers both voice and text support and real-time assistance.
- 3Coordinated and expanded access: requires collaboration with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 988 Lifeline, and the Veterans Crisis Line; mandates a public awareness campaign; encourages partnerships with existing first responder hotlines; ensures referrals from 988 Lifeline to the new hotline where appropriate; includes a training curriculum for 988 network staff on first responder-specific concerns.
- 4Funding: authorizes $10,000,000 in appropriations for each fiscal year 2025 through 2031 to support the hotline and related activities.
- 5Additional crisis support and disaster-related provisions: expands crisis counseling eligibility to emergency response providers working during major disasters; requires a Department of Health and Human Services report within 1 year on best practices for a mobile on-site crisis delivery site for qualified emergency response providers in major disasters (trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, disaster-behavioral interventions).
- 6Definitions and scope: clarifies what constitutes a first responder and a first responder mental health services provider; includes retired first responders; defines culturally competent peer specialists and required training standards.
- 7Section 4 on-site services: creates a directive to study and recommend a new mobile health care delivery site to provide short-term crisis services to emergency response providers during major disasters.