Local law enforcement agencies would have access to new resources to address the mental health needs of police officers under bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) on Friday.
The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act, H.R. 2228, would require the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop mental health resources for local police officers.
“Our officers deal with the unthinkable and daily face situations that can be hard to process and impossible to forget,” Brooks said. “They need the training and resources to protect their own emotional and mental well-being in these situations. This bill provides law enforcement officers with the skills to handle the stress and anxiety associated with their job as well as the resources to address serious mental health challenges that may arise like depression and PTSD.”
Under the bill, grants would be made available to support peer mentoring pilot programs, to develop training programs for mental health providers to meet the needs of law enforcers, and to explore the effectiveness of mental health crisis hotlines and annual mental health checks for officers.
U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), who introduced a Senate version of the bill in April, welcomed the introduction of the House bill on Friday.
“We welcome this bipartisan companion bill in the House of Representatives, another step towards ensuring that law enforcement officers have access to mental health services when they need them,” Young and Donnelly said in a joint statement. “Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day protecting our communities, and this bill would let them know that we have their back. We urge leaders in the House and Senate to quickly bring this bipartisan legislation to the floor, so we can pass this common sense bill.”