Senator Linda Stewart Secures $2.5 Million for Orlando PTSD Treatment

With the psychological damage from one of the worst massacres in the nation still readily apparent in the communities she serves, State Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) has secured the reinstatement of $2.5 million into the Florida Senate’s budget to heal some of the lingering trauma.
The restored funding is earmarked for UCF RESTORES Trauma Management Therapy program, a highly effective, pioneering treatment program established at the University of Central Florida for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“No amount of money can ever truly heal the ache and the pain and the trauma that our community suffered nearly one year ago,” said Sen. Stewart, who continues to witness the after-effects residents and victims still suffer from the Pulse nightclub shooting rampage. “I want to commend President Joe Negron for working closely with me to put this funding back into the state’s budget.”
The UCF RESTORES Trauma Management Therapy program is poised for expansion of its scope of service to include first responders suffering PTSD as well as Floridians afflicted by other tragedies, such as the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.