HERO Act

The HERO Act establishes a national data system to track suicide incidence among public safety officers, including firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and telecommunicators. It requires the CDC to collect detailed annual data (broken down by age, gender, state, occupation type, and volunteer/career status) and publish public reports on suicide trends and effective interventions. The bill also funds peer-support mental health programs within fire and EMS agencies, develops training resources for mental health professionals on public safety culture, and creates evidence-based best practices for treating PTSD in first responders. Crucially, it prohibits using suicide data to deny life insurance or benefits to survivors.