Experts urge statewide, sustained strategy for first‑responder mental health

Dr. Kelly O'Dare, an associate professor and deputy executive director of UCF Restores and founder of the 2nd Alarm Project, told the Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs that Florida has growing evidence that targeted, culturally competent care and peer support can reduce PTSD and related conditions among first responders.

O'Dare summarized statewide data, training efforts and program outcomes and urged a coordinated, sustainable funding and data strategy to expand what she described as evidence‑based services for firefighters, EMS, law enforcement and dispatchers.

Why it matters: Committee members were presented with data showing higher suicide and mental‑health rates among first responders and told the legislature can influence statewide practice by funding programs, standardizing peer support training and investing in clinician cultural competency.

O'Dare opened by describing UCF Restores, the 2nd Alarm Project and partnerships with the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight (BMO), the Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative and the State Fire Marshal's Office. She said those collaborations enable technical assistance, peer‑support training, disaster deployments and targeted clinical services. "UCF Restores is a national leader in trauma management," O'Dare said, and the 2nd Alarm Project focuses on peer support and resilience for public safety personnel.

She presented survey and program results the committee requested and attributed to the statewide collection led by the DOH BMO. The presenter said a survey of more than 45,000 Florida fire and EMS personnel reported 36.9% difficulty sleeping, 34.5% experiencing anxiety and 22.1% struggling with depression related to job demands or traumatic events; 10.2% reported experiencing suicidal thoughts. O'Dare said the BMO's tracking identified 247 first‑responder suicides from 2017 through 2022 and provided a year‑by‑year count and a professional breakdown: EMS (84), firefighters (58), dual‑certified firefighter/EMS (49), law enforcement (42) and public‑safety telecommunicators (14).

On treatment outcomes, O'Dare told the panel that UCF clinical services treated more than 1,400 first responders for PTSD, anxiety, depression and substance misuse, and reported a 76% rate of patients "no longer meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD" after completing treatment. She described peer support as "the heart of a resilient first responder organization" and said trained peers provide culturally informed validation and referral, reducing stigma and helping colleagues access clinicians who understand first‑responder culture.

Committee members pressed for detail on measures and standards. Senator Blaise Broder said the 76% figure sounded promising but asked whether the outcome was self‑reported or clinician‑verified. "What is it? You said here that they no longer meet the diagnostic criteria. Is that self reported? Is that professionally reported?" Broder asked. O'Dare replied that the result is based on standardized clinical screeners administered at intake and again at treatment completion and that clinicians monitor progress and adjust treatment protocols as needed. She added that returning to work and stable employment are commonly observed downstream outcomes when treatment succeeds.

Senator Gail Harrell asked about peer‑support training, certification and statewide availability. O'Dare said Florida's State Emergency Response Plan recognizes five first‑responder peer‑support trainings for disaster deployments and recommended that first responder peer programs remain peer‑led. She said training must include how to handle suicidal ideation, make warm handoffs to higher‑level care and link colleagues to available resources; she also described grant support that has paid training costs for smaller agencies.

Committee members and the presenter discussed clinician cultural competency programs, a two‑day immersion for clinicians developed with the Florida Firefighter Safety and Health Collaborative (reaching 289 participants across 35 counties) and an online course at firefighterculture.com. O'Dare said a law enforcement cultural competency online course is in development.

On technology and navigation, O'Dare described web platforms and apps (named in testimony as Redline, BlueLine and GoldLine Rescue) and behavioral‑health navigation that assisted more than 3,000 first responders in accessing care; she reported more than 36,100 toolkit and app downloads. She also highlighted peer‑support strike teams deployed under the state emergency response plan to disasters including the Surfside collapse and several hurricanes.

O'Dare thanked the committee and noted a recent executive announcement she said was supportive of this work. She referred to an announcement by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis proposing dedicated funding for first‑responder mental wellness.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation. Members asked for more program detail and for outcome measures the legislature could use to evaluate investments. O'Dare said standardized statewide data collection and consistent evaluation are necessary for accountability and to inform scaling of effective programs.

The presentation closed with committee members thanking O'Dare for her work and personal testimony.