April 2025. Blues Vol 41 No.4

GUEST COMENTARYFour

GUEST COMENTARYFour current & former Texas deputiesfrom same sheriff's office die by suicide.The Harris County Sheriff's deputies were all found dead between Feb. 6 and March 19:We need to find a solution to this growing epidemic.HARRIS COUNTY, TX. – The HarrisCounty Sheriff’s Office confirmedthat two deputies, Christina Kohlerand retired deputy Maria Vasquez,died by suicide in separate incidents,Click2Houston reported.Kohler died on March 13, with theHarris County Office of the MedicalExaminer confirming her death asa suicide. Vasquez died March 16in Montgomery, according to thereport.The deaths highlight the ongoingneed for mental health support forfirst responders, according to thereport. Dr. Ron Acierno, director ofthe Trauma and Resilience Center atUTHealth Houston, emphasized theimportance of breaking the stigmaaround seeking help.“Much like the veteran communityand the active-duty community, theidea is to tough it out. Or whetherit’s due to the fact that they justdidn’t know the help was available,or didn’t think it could help,” Aciernosaid.The UTHealth Trauma and ResilienceCenter (TRC) is a multidisciplinarytreatment, research, andeducation center devoted to helpingpeople who are experiencing psychologicalproblems in the aftermathof traumatic life experiences.We offer home-telemedicine, evidence-based,trauma-focused carefor patients struggling with complextrauma, post-traumatic stressdisorder (PTSD) and trauma-relatedbehavioral health conditions. OurLong Nguyen, Christina Kohler, Maria Vasquez and William Bozemanwere found dead by apparent suicide.team of expert clinicians and staffserve veterans and their families,first responders and their families,elder abuse and domestic violencesurvivors, and people impacted bydisasters, severe accidents and othertraumatic events directly in theirhomes via telemedicine on yourcomputer, phone, tablet or otherdevice.As part of the UT Physicians PsychiatryOutpatient Clinic, we wereestablished to address these increasingneeds, while improving accessibilityto resources in our community.Informed by the latest advances inresearch and treatment, we are dedicatedto helping patients overcometrauma, build resiliency and improvetheir quality of life.We were established to addressthese increasing needs, while improvingaccessibility to resourcesin our community. Informed by thelatest advances in research andtreatment, we are dedicated to helpingpatients overcome trauma, buildresiliency and improve their qualityof life.We treat patients who are strugglingafter traumatic events such as:• Physical, emotional and sexualabuse and/or neglect.• Life-threatening natural disastersand/or accidents.• Domestic violence.• Serious injury or medical procedure.• Combat exposure, deploymentstress and/or military separation.16 The BLUES - APRIL ‘25

The BLUES - APRIL ‘25 17