PRINTER'S NO. 2257
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
512
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY DAVIS, GALLOWAY, DiGIROLAMO, BISHOP, MACKENZIE,
BOYLE, BURNS, D. PARKER, MAJOR, BIZZARRO, VEREB, DRISCOLL,
COHEN, BARRAR, MURT, DONATUCCI, CALTAGIRONE, SCHLOSSBERG,
HENNESSEY, LONGIETTI, SCHWEYER, MARSICO, FARINA, MILLARD,
GOODMAN, THOMAS, O'NEILL, YOUNGBLOOD, READSHAW, McNEILL,
PASHINSKI, GIBBONS, WHEELAND, D. COSTA, PAYNE, ROSS, MAHONEY,
GROVE, SCHREIBER, TOEPEL, TAYLOR, SAYLOR, RAPP, NEILSON,
KORTZ, O'BRIEN, SANTARSIERO, KINSEY, CORBIN, KIM, FARRY,
KOTIK, P. DALEY, M. DALEY, EVERETT, PHILLIPS-HILL, ROZZI,
DAVIDSON, SAMUELSON, WARD AND NEUMAN, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of September as "Code Green: First
Responders Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, First responders, including law enforcement
officers, firefighters and paramedics, routinely and
courageously confront risk; and
WHEREAS, First responders draw on training and experience to
make sound decisions in the middle of a crime scene, four-alarm
fire or medical emergency and, when duty requires, experience
horrors, trauma and loss that few, if any, can imagine; and
WHEREAS, For many years, the prevailing culture among first
responders has been stoicism, any trauma a first responder had
gone through was to be dealt with quietly, dealt with alone and
the first responder was expected to return to work; and
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WHEREAS, Thanks to efforts like The Code Green Campaign,
after many decades that culture is changing; and
WHEREAS, The first responder community is learning that
emotional health, in addition to physical health, is critical to
readiness and that seeking support is a sign of strength and not
weakness; and
WHEREAS, The Code Green Campaign was founded in March 2014 by
a group of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals who
had been growing increasingly concerned about the high rate of
suicide among fellow first responders and the lack of discussion
about mental health in general in the profession; and
WHEREAS, The Code Green Campaign takes its name from both the
color of the mental health awareness ribbon and from the "code
alerts" that EMS uses to designate an emergency patient, and by
using the symbol of a code green, the idea is that first
responders are calling a code alert on their own mental health;
and
WHEREAS, The mission of The Code Green Campaign is to first
bring awareness to the high rates of mental health issues among
first responders and reduce them, then to eliminate the stigma
that prevents people from admitting these issues exist and
asking for help and also to educate first responders on self and
peer care and finally to lobby for systemic change in how mental
health issues are addressed by first responder agencies; and
WHEREAS, The campaign raises awareness by giving first
responders an outlet to tell individual stories of mental health
issues anonymously and republishing those stories so the stories
can be viewed by everyone; and
WHEREAS, It also allows those who do not have first-hand
experience with mental health issues to see that mental health
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issues can affect anyone, which will hopefully decrease the
stigma; and
WHEREAS, In the future, The Code Green Campaign hopes to be
able to provide education to first responders, agencies and
communities; and
WHEREAS, More information and additional resources about The
Code Green Campaign, suicide prevention and suicide awareness
can be found at www.CodeGreenCampaign.org; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of September 2015 as "Code Green: First Responders Suicide
Prevention and Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge all
residents to better understand the behavioral health issues of
first responders and recognize that when first responders take
better care of themselves, they serve our community better; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the Pennsylvania State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, the
Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, the Pennsylvania
Emergency Medical Services Council and the Pennsylvania
Professional Fire Fighters Association.
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