No matter what caused your #PTSD, we can all learn from the people getting the most attention by legislators. In this case, there is legislation to address PTSD in police officers. The goal of this bill is to get them to seek help, get help, and heal enough to go back to work. That, in itself, is empowerment.
A growing number of police officers in Minnesota have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the past two years and are receiving millions in payments through workers’ compensation settlements and state disability pensions.
Responding to rising police PTSD claims Star Tribune
Though Minneapolis has the largest portion of cases from public safety workers, mostly police, with 43%, St. Paul has 9% and about 48% come from elsewhere in the state, according to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA). In addition to the high cost for state and local governments, the current system doesn’t offer training or treatment options.
That’s why a bill introduced this session at the Legislature merits approval. Rep. Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, is sponsoring a measure (HF 4026) that would mandate preventive PTSD training for public safety workers. Those who are diagnosed would be required to do up to 32 weeks of treatment, with the state covering the cost, before they could apply for permanent disability under the state pension system. While in treatment, state funds would continue to cover their wages.
Long told an editorial writer that his bill “puts treatment first,” with the hope that more of those who file those claims can return to work. He said the bill would provide a support system for those affected by PTSD, as well as funding to help cities and counties cover some of their spiking costs.
We should all be tired of hearing doom and gloom. We should also be tired of excuses. We’ve heard excuses as to why members of the military are still committing suicide in high numbers. Putting all branches together, including members of the reserves and National Guards, the average has been 500 a year since 2012. Police and firefighter suicides are rising as well. The rest of us, die by suicide because we do not get the help we need.
According to the CDC there were 46,000 suicides in 2020, 12.2 million reported they thought about it. Do they all have PTSD? No but considering according to the National Center for PTSD, there are 12 million more Americans joining the PTSD club no one wants to belong to every year. The bad news is, the rest of us are on our own to find help, get diagnosed, find support and be there to help someone else find their way out of suffering as survivors. The good news comes from all the bad stuff that happened to those getting the attention. Like the 4 police officers who responded to the attack on the US Capitol January 6, 2021. One of the officers committed suicide after trying to defend the Capitol, and it has been called an “in the line of duty” death.
“The death of Officer Jeffrey Smith, who killed himself nine days after confronting a mob at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was the direct result of an injury he sustained during the riot, a retirement board has found. The ruling marks the first time in the records of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department — and one of very few times across the country — that a suicide has been classified as a line-of-duty death.”
NY Times
When no one knows what we’re going through, they can’t help us. As you’ve just read, when those who make the rules know what is happening, things change. Maybe it is time for the people with the power to change things opened their eyes to the rest of us with PTSD? Finding out what does bind all of us survivors together, is empowering for all of us!
