Emergency service wellness commission seeks $220,000 to sustain peer support for first responders

Mark McDonough, battalion chief with the Burlington Fire Department and vice chair of the Emergency Service Provider Wellness Commission, told the committee on Feb. 19 that peer support and clinician resources for emergency responders are at risk when federal grants expire.

McDonough said Secure, the peer-support program housed through EAP First, currently includes 79 trained peer mentors and four clinicians and is funded through federal grants only through September. He asked the committee for $160,000 to staff clinicians, provide stipends for peer supporters who travel statewide, and cover training costs; $50,000 for additional trainings across the state; and $10,000 to convene stakeholders in the fall.

McDonough said the Secure team performed 13 critical-incident stress debriefings between October 2023 and September 2024 that reached 133 first responders, plus 23 peer referrals to mental-health clinicians — approximately 150 responders served. He said many small rural agencies lack access to these resources and that the commission’s statutory charge is to make pre-incident behavioral-health training and post-incident support available equitably across Vermont.

The commission also supports extending workers’-compensation presumptions for PTSD to additional responder groups (McDonough cited ski patrollers as an example) and is watching a forthcoming House bill to grant confidentiality protections for peer-support communications. McDonough said the commission supports the bill’s intent but has concerns about current draft language and seeks to work with sponsors to refine it.

Committee members asked for details about the bill’s sponsorship and timing; McDonough said he would follow up with committee staff on sponsor names and tracking information. He said the commission appreciates legislative backing for funding so programs do not rely solely on competitive federal grants.