ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Despite progress in recent years in the recognition and treatment of mental health issues, a new survey conducted by New York state shows there’s a long way to go.

More than half of the first responders who responded to the state’s Needs Assessment Survey say they feel high levels of job-related stress, burnout and depression, and many don’t look for help — citing the stigma surrounding their issues.

Eric Weaver is a former police officer who made it his mission to help first responders with their mental health. It's a story that includes his own path out of darkness.

“When I was a little boy, all I wanted to be was a cop,” said Weaver.

To protect and serve, which Weaver did for two decades. He says the best part of the job was service to the public. Weaver rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Rochester Police Department. It wasn’t always easy, he admits.

“That’s the thing about police officers, you ask the majority of them why they wanted to be a cop, they say they want to help people,” he said. “After five, 10, 15, 25 years of being spit on, shot at, thrown rocks at, people say, why do I want to be this?”

During his time In law enforcement, Weaver struggled with his mental health. A struggle that led to several hospitalizations. He was, at times, suicidal. A “back injury” kept him out of work, he told fellow officers.

“Certainly that issue of 'what if they find out?' is a huge one for officers, or for anyone sometimes,” said Weaver.

Weaver has written a book about the struggles police officers face. The trauma of seeing terrible things, and not being able to react instinctively.  He says one in three police officers live with some form of job-related PTSD. 

“Whether it’s acknowledged or not is a whole other thing,” he stated.  “Whether they seek help for that or not is also a whole other thing.”

In the early 2000’s, Weaver developed and led the Rochester Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team, which handled calls involving people in a mental health crisis. He later created “Overcoming the Darkness” — a consulting business teaching officers to cope with their own mental health struggles, including depression and thoughts of suicide.

“Getting help is not a form of weakness,” said Weaver. “It’s a form of strength.”

When Weaver finally told fellow officers about his struggle, reaction was mixed.

“I found out who my real friends were,” he said.

Weaver also realized he wasn’t alone. After teaching hundreds of classes and reaching thousands of officers, he says the proof of the impact is in the “thank you” messages received from other cops. Compliments also were not always easy to accept.

“It’s difficult sometimes to take positive critiques, because who am I?” He said. “I’m a guy who wrote a book, who had a lot of problems. And still has problems.”

Last year, Weaver stopped teaching. He currently lives in Florida, but still visits family living in the Rochester area. He has Parkinson’s, the effect of which makes the job too difficult. He says addressing mental health in law enforcement is still a work in progress.

“That stigma is still there,” said Weaver. “We’ve come a long way, but we are light years away from where we need to be.”