VIDEO: Mental health professionals across the metro area are stepping up to support first responders after the City of Denver announced controversial cuts to their mental health benefits. Earlier this month, 9NEWS revealedย Denver is scaling backย its mental health services for first responders โ from unlimited therapy sessions to just 12 hours of coverage per year. The decision was met with widespread backlash, particularly from police officers, firefighters and paramedics who are regularly exposed to traumatic situations.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas confirmed that two officers and one recruit officer have died by suicide since the start of 2024. โWe can’t lose another one,โ said Liesl Perez. โThereโs no reason why we have to lose another one.โ Perez is the co-founder ofย Axis Integrated Mental Health, which provides mental health treatment through a variety of resources across the Front Range.
Sheโs now offering up to $100,000 of free transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment to Denver first responders impacted by the cuts. โLeaving them behind was not an option, so the first thing I did was call all my friends,โ Perez said. โAnd within a day, we had four other therapy clinics that were ready to go.โ
