By New Year’s 2020, Molly was so concerned with his mental health that she took out a loan to get Phillip into special PTSD treatment in Salt Lake City, Utah.��

According to her, he came back as a different person, making promises to her and their son Adrian to be more present and reassuring them he’d never commit suicide.

Twenty-eight hours later, on the night of January 14, he took his life.

“He took the gun out of our home office, and within five minutes, he was dead,” said High. “He was four months from finishing his MA in counseling psychology and six weeks from retirement.”

According to High, Phillip’s four-day mental health retreat just picked away scabs, leaving the source of the wound untreated. She said she knew he needed more help, but an opening for a full 30-day retreat wasn’t available until the following week.��������

“I do think if I had gotten him on a plane that weekend if that night could have been avoided, he would still be here”, said the widow.

Two thousand five hundred miles away in Cleveland, Ohio, another police officer was losing his struggle with mental health as well. Officer Nick Sabo, 39, told family members he “couldn’t take it anymore. This job is just so hard.”

On September 4. 2020, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.��

“He comes home, walks into the kitchen and kills himself,” Brienne Sabo told 91����.��

Now, three years later, Brienne Sabo can still visualize the horror; the kitchen door, marked with a small bullet hole, is also a constant reminder.��

“Five months before the night he killed himself, I had no idea our fun day and normal evening would turn into the worst night of my life. My life is forever changed”, said the widow.

Brienne Sabo feels law enforcement officers need therapy regularly and that treatment should be considered overtime or paid. That way, it makes them want to do it.

“When a fellow officer is hurt or killed. It’s like losing a family member. Police suicide needs to be acknowledged more, and the departments need to treat their death with more respect and their families better”, said Sabo.

The Cleveland Police Department gave Sabo a full honors funeral, but that’s not always the case when a law enforcement officer commits suicide.��

Molly High said, at first, the Hoquiam Police Department said: “his death was not honorable.”

High was in a battle with the state of Washington for 33 months as they denied honoring the death.’ The Department finally conceded, acknowledging that during his three years with Ocean Shores PD and 10 years with Hoquiam PD, Officer High sustained continuous PTSD injuries, and these led to this death. The department reclassified his death as “in-the-line-of-duty.” But her fight for Phillips’ full benefits as a widow of an officer who committed suicide drags on.

“The law enforcement community refused to honor his 19 years of service, but the military had no problems honoring his military service. For that, I am grateful that he will be honored for his life of service to his country, if not his community”, said High.

91���� reached out to the Hoquiam Police Department for comment. The Lieutenant assigned to respond simply said, “I cannot say or comment on this matter for an ongoing case about an officer.”��

“I’m not ashamed of my husband for doing what he did. I’m ashamed of his department,” said High. Phillip High was honored by the National Guard and finally put to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on September 12, 2022.

Public Safety Officer Support Act 2022��

President Joe Biden signed a 2022 bill into law that extended disability and death benefits to families of officers affected by job-related post-traumatic stress and mental health disorders and who die by suicide as a result of exposure of traumatic events while on duty.��

The is part of a broader effort to recognize the emotional impacts of traumatic events on first responders nationwide.

People familiar with the original draft of this bill tell 91���� it was initially broader, covering all kinds of law enforcement deaths. However, the bill passed has criteria that families must meet to get full benefits.��

“Widows shouldn’t have to fight when they’re already fighting to stay afloat, keep their kids afloat and try to deal with all the grief,” said Brienne Sabo.

Molly High agreed that the public safety law could still be improved. “There are at least 200 pending cases, only three families got benefits.”

FIRST H.E.L.P. (formerly known as Blue H.E.L.P.)�� is a nonprofit organization that has been collecting law enforcement suicide information since 2016. In its, it shows 129 officer suicides through November, of which 92�� are law enforcement, 21 are firefighters, 7 corrections officers, 6 EMS and 3 Dispatchers. Of the 92 law enforcement officers, 81.6% were white. The 2023 number is on pace to be the lowest in seven years and almost half the number of officer-related suicides in 2019.��

President and Co-founder of FIRST H.E.L.P. Karen Solomon said the unrest surrounding the death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri got her frustrated on how people felt about police officers. Solomon, whose husband is in the law enforcement field, started writing a book on all the good things officers do.

“While I was doing that, I realized how much trauma police officers were experiencing. And I heard all these anecdotal information about law enforcement suicide, and nobody was really tracking it,” said Solomon.

Solomon, along with two police officers, cofounded the non-profit FIRST H.E.L.P.�� She runs a website to inform the public about police suicides and provide help to survivors’ families.����

Solomon had her own challenges in the past. She told the Wash she herself had attempted suicide three times.��

“There’s no winning situation that you can ever project. You can try to get them help, but that backfires sometimes. We’ve seen officers who, their wife gets them help, and they said, ‘Oh my God, you ruined my life,’” said Solomon.

Solomon told 91���� the spike in officer suicides in 2019 was unusual but there are typically around 180 to 185 yearly. 2023 numbers are trending in the right direction.��

“This year we’re just hitting 100. So we’re hoping that it’s truly that low, and we’re hoping that it’s because of all these programs and interventions and everything that have been put into place,” said Solomon.

Dr. Ellen Kirschman is a psychologist who has been counseling police officers and their families for three decades.

“In all the years I have worked with first responders, not only have I seen people recover, I’ve seen them grow stronger, wiser, and happier than they were before–whatever caused the trauma,” wrote Dr. Kirschman in an email to 91����.��“First responders see things that no one should have to see, do things that no one should have to do, and go places no one should have to go. They console the inconsolable, encounter the unthinkable, and are exposed to some of the cruelest, most tragic moments life has to offer. At times, many of them need psychological help but are stymied in their efforts by stigma, the fear of looking weak, and a lack of culturally competent clinicians who understand first responders and the culture in which they work.”

FIRST H.E.L.P. offers resources and helps prepares the families for the trauma.

“Sometimes it’s that one moment in time, you can redirect them, and it passes if it’s a spontaneous suicide,” said Solomon. “We are hoping that we are preparing the officers to understand how to handle stress, how to handle trauma, how to recognize their own stressors and to prepare themselves.”��

One of the things FIRST H.E.L.P. recommends is that families with a member with PTSD get a list of local resources or national resources so they can call them ahead of time.

In the Washington D.C. area, the��Arlington County Police Department has its own .

“It started probably about eight years ago when a K-9 handler, Officer Greg Johnson, committed suicide. The then Deputy Chief got on board with the wellness thing started a peer support unit,” said Sergeant Greg Sirinek of the Office of Wellness and Safety, ACPD.����

Sergeant Sirinek said there are public safety wellness coordinators who provide short-term therapy care. If a person is trying to harm themselves, they are usually placed on restricted duty status but can return to work after getting help.��

��“If somebody is involuntarily committed into a hospital in Virginia, and I would guess probably every other state in the country, you can no longer possess a firearm. You can no longer be a police officer if you don’t possess a firearm, “said Sirinek.��

��As the widow of suicide, Molly High wants first responders to be required to see a counselor on a weekly basis. She wants more programs that will help the first responders to open up without any fear. Just like the wellness programs Arlington County Police Department has in place.

“Monthly is not enough.It has to be mandatory. If everybody has to go to the counselor then there’s no stigma,” said High.��

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Digital Media Manager Stephanie Stratos said she rarely has time to shop in person because her workdays are long. The only shopping place that offers returns with no repackaging is Amazon. That is where most of her credit card bills pile up.

“I don’t think about paying it off. I’m being totally honest here. I do overthink how much I have spent and then think of drastic ways to get more money to pay it off,” said Stratos.

Even though inflation and interest rates have forced some people to live on tighter budgets and Americans have voiced concerns about the state of the economy,�� 200 million shoppers were out spending on Black Friday, according to the

Patrick Hannah, an Assistant Manager of a bakery chain store, said he doesn’t stress over money. He buys Christmas gifts for his family members on Black Friday, and some gifts may not be on sale.

“Managing money is the same for me throughout the entire year. After I pay my bills, I’ll only leave a certain amount in my checking and the rest goes to savings or investing”, said Hannah.

According to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans’ total credit card balance is $17.29 trillion in the third quarter of 2023. Delinquency transition rates increased for most debt types except for student loans.

Janae Bowen, a TV station journalist in D.C., was not among the Black Friday shoppers as she and her husband want to climb out of their credit card debt and other debts.

“We have a toddler, and I have student loan debt, so we’re not really big on spending a lot right now,” said Bowen.

The Bowens are trying to live on a budget and save money. They shared how they are doing so with 91����.

“We consolidated some of our debt not too long ago and we have a little bit of, I guess you could say, like, a safety fund, and that’s just from a personal loan that we have,” said the Bowens.

The advises consumers on ways to get out of debt. The recommendation from FTC is to list all the monthly expenses, add up all paychecks, and subtract the total monthly cost from the total income. This worksheet will help consumers to determine where to make cuts and save money.

Quincy Lee Noche, a tech at United Airlines, said he took some of that FTC advice and is now enjoying a more secure financial life with his wife and two daughters. He said he is not big on Black Fridays but loves taking vacations abroad.

“I use my credit card but pay it off quickly. I have it all planned out and know how much I am going to spend,” said Lee Noche.

Lee Noche said he is fortunate to have a lifestyle to take multiple vacations each year and work to pay off any debt that accumulates.

“My mind is, you don’t have to be rich. You have to live smart,” said Noche.

The post Americans adopt financial strategies to avoid sliding into debt first appeared on 91����.

��“I wanted to come out on a beautiful day to do my civic duty,” said Kelly.��

Kelly is just one of more than 707,000 voters who had already cast their ballot in advance of November 7.��

Though it is not a presidential election, this off-year election is one that will eventually determine who gets to control of both the Virginia legislative chambers.��

Cheryl James-Postner voted in person Saturday and loves the option of early voting.��

��“It is wonderful for people who have work or other engagements on the day to be able to vote early and get it done,” said Postner.��

According to the latest estimates of , Democrats have a huge advantage in early voting numbers at 53%, with Republicans coming in at 41%.

��“Early voting has become more and more popular every year and we expect that to continue to increase”, said Richard Keech, the Deputy Director of Elections in Loudoun County.

Keech also said, this year Virginia is running slightly below than last year’s congressional election but doing better than most other recent off-year voting early participation. He explained that in 2019 “ no-excuse voting” started in Virginia. With that came elections centers open weeks in advance of election day and voters getting wide access to mail-in ballots.��

“One of the things we’re working out now is how to predict voter behavior in the new normal,” said Keech.����

Governor Glenn Youngkin has been urging Republicans to vote early. On Labor Day, he�� launched a bus tour that traveled the state to push for early voting. His office did not respond to 91���� for comment, but his social media feeds have been recommending Republicans start catching up with Democrats in early voting numbers.��

Tomorrow is the last day of early voting. Find your early voting location today and secure YOUR vote:

— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin)

Anthony Spain and his son Michael Spain voted on the last day of early voting on Saturday. He said he didn’t agree with many of Youngkin’s political views, but on this topic, he agreed.

“Early voting makes sense,” Spain told the Wash. “We should be promoting votes in general by making it easier to vote.”����

Younkin’s stand on early voting is not popular with favored Republican presidential candidate�� former President, Donald Trump. The former president at a rally in New Hampshire recently told his supporters, “You don’t have to vote, don’t worry about voting.The voting, we got plenty of votes, you gotta watch.”��

An estimate by shows more than 2 percent increase compared to last year in early voting by Republicans. This estimation is based on the data that is available six days before the election. Republican mail votes have also increased according to the same website.

��Emanuelle and Marilyn Revelous from Arlington went to Clarendon precinct for a tour. They had mailed their vote 3 weeks before the election day.

Strong believers of national vote by mail, the Revelous couple said, “All the evidence is clear that voter turnout increases dramatically.”������

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