Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, mentions the tragic story of Nate Lyday, who had five police officers quit their jobs because their wives begged them to find new jobs, when talking about his new mental health bill.
Lyday, a second-generation police officer, was shot while responding to a domestic violence incident in 2020. He had been with the Ogden Police Department for 15 months.
Wilcox said he was “doing studies and looking at data, and there were a lot of (people) who were self-medicating with alcohol … they were ‘at high risk'” for suicide.
Emergency services and police work cause a lot of stress for years to come that affects not only the first responders but also their families.
In 2022, Utah passed a law that gives first responders and their families access to mental health professionals and other psychological resources. But it did not include retired women.
Wilcox is now looking to change that.
HB59 would provide mental health services to spouses of retired police officers, paramedics, paramedics, firefighters, dispatchers, corrections officers, CSI specialists, and search and rescuers.
The bill also adds interviewers and members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to the list of welfare recipients, as well as their families and retirees.
Current law does not allow retired spouses to use the mental health services available to retirees and their families. Basically, when the first responder retires, their access to health care is restricted and is no longer available to spouses.
“We’re losing a lot to suicide, and we’re losing a lot of family members, not just to suicide, but to divorce,” Wilcox said.
Heidi Evans, wife of retired Iron County Sheriff and Lt. David Evans, told what happened to him.
“The unsung heroes behind (the first responders) are the families,” Evans said.
Evans described his own problems.
“I was there watching my husband suffer from PTSD,” she said. “Maybe I should have help.” I’ve been trying to put my face forward, … but sometimes we break down and lose track.
Evans said it’s important to decriminalize mental health care for first responders, their families and others. It’s getting to the point where mental health is not a problem, he said.
The bill also creates “permanent and ongoing” responsibilities for first responders and their families, including retirees and their spouses.
Mr. Wilcox said the program makes regular checks on billers within 24 hours of an accident.
Evans said regular checkups are important because “it takes more than one or two visits to get comfortable with the therapist.” Psychiatrists need time to diagnose, treat and manage the symptoms a person may have, he said.
“I think it’s great that people look out for first responders and their families,” he said. “When they retire that’s when they’re needed the most.”
