Today, more police, firefighters and EMTs are making their mental health more of a priority.

One sheriff's office is going a step further and creating an app that will help connect first responders and their families to the help they need.

Having the job of a first responder, Cody Marshall said that he knows how important mental health can be.

“We’re always asking this question of why? Why does someone do that? What led someone to do that? You may never get that answer, and it kind of eats at you a little bit,” says Cody Marshall, Police Patrolman.

Marshall said those questions and the stigma surrounding first responders can be a huge problem.

“I think it makes people think like, 'OK, if something's wrong, it means something's wrong with me,' when really we're all human,” Marshall said.

According to data collected by BLUE HELP, from 2017-19,  the number of law enforcement suicides were higher than deaths in the line of duty.

“We have had a number of suicides in our department over the last decade, and it's just heart wrenching when you ask yourself, what more could I have done? Could I have prevented this?” said Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.

Apple’s department is receiving a grant to create an officer wellness app to help first responders who are struggling.

The app will be open to all first responders and their families. The app will help in areas like finding a therapist, financial wellness, peer support and sleep. People can use it with complete anonymity.

“And if it works, nobody's going to know the difference between when they were feeling off and when they're back to their normal self," Marshall said. "So I think it really helps. And I think it's going to allow people to feel more open to finally reaching out if they're kind of on the fence about it."