RUCKERSVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A Marine Veteran walking from North Carolina all the way to the White House made a pit stop in Ruckersville today.

Terry Sharpe, aptly known as the “Walking Marine,” is walking to Washington, D.C., covering between 10 to 16 miles a day, to raise awareness about high suicide rates among Veterans.

“I’m bringing awareness to the fact that we’re losing 22+ Veterans to suicide every day. There are so many people who don’t have an idea that this is happening,” Sharpe explained. “So everybody that we can make aware of it, that more many people will know that we are losing our Veterans at a rapid rate.”

Sharpe is aided by support vehicles that follow him to provide assistance when needed.The former marine is also raising to support housing and rehabilitation efforts for former service members. This is Sharpe’s eighth and final year walking to Washington, D.C., but he said the walk will still continue every year.

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More than 17 Veterans die per day from suicide in the United States.

Mission Roll Call wants President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to make the prevention of Veteran suicides its top priority.

Mission Roll Call Executive Director Cole Lyle said change within the Veterans Health Administration, which is the largest integrated health care network in the United States, has been slow. That’s partly due to its size. The Veterans Health Administration has 1,255 health care facilities that serve 9 million enrolled Veterans annually.

“It’s an enormous challenge to successfully implement changes or policies nationwide,” Lyle said in an interview with The Center Square. “Most local directors have Veteran medical centers or integrated service networks have enormous flexibility to direct programs and budgets in a way that is within the Secretary’s priorities, which is why we’ve advocated to make it their No. 1 priority so that it would send a clear message to the local folks to be laser-focused on this issue of preventing Veteran suicide.”

Lyle, a Marine who served in Afghanistan, later served as an adviser to senior leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs and on Veteran policy in the U.S. Senate before heading up Mission Roll Call, a Veteran advocacy group. Mission Roll Call, based in Georgia, aims to be “a movement that gives every Veteran a voice on the issues that are most important to them,” according to its website.

More U.S. Veterans die by suicide each year than non-Veterans per capita. The suicide rate for Veterans in 2019 was 52.3% higher than non-Veterans, according to the 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report issued in September. In 2019, the most recent year for which data was available, 6,261 Veterans died by suicide, 399 fewer than in 2018, according to the report.

“The suicide rate has been very high for decades and VA’s numbers, according to their internal data, is 17 Veterans per day, which equates to 6,205 a year,” Lyle said. “A long time ago, active-duty and Veteran suicides eclipsed actual combat causalities in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The average number of Veteran suicides per day in 2019 was 17.2. That’s a 4.5% increase from 16.4 in 2001. During the same 18-year period, the average number of suicides per day among U.S. adults rose 55.0%, from 81 in 2001 to 125.6 in 2019, according to a VA report. Among the average 17.2 Veteran suicides per day in 2019, an estimated 10.4 per day were Veterans who had not had an encounter with the Veterans Health Administration in 2018 or 2019.

“So this has been an issue for many, many years. Congress has tried to attack by funding heavily traditional approaches to treatment, which the VA views as primarily a mental health problem,” he said. “Unfortunately, that has not objectively worked to this point and I think it is because suicide is not inherently a mental health problem. At the moment of decision, it could be any number of things or a conglomeration of things that lead a Veteran down that path.”

The funding available to the Department of Veterans Affairs has increased steadily since fiscal year 2018, when it had $229.9 billion in total budget resources. The department’s total budget resources for 2022 were $339.3 billion, according to federal spending figures.

“The VA has robustly funded traditional treatments for mental health, i.e. pharmacological or psychological approaches to this, but 50% of the Veterans in the United States don’t use or aren’t engaged with the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Lyle said. “And in their most recent budget, they only included $497 million into suicide prevention outreach efforts. That is one-tenth of one percent their largest budget request in history, this year, which is $301 billion.”

President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act in 2020. That act included funding for community organizations outside of the VA that have more interactions with Veterans.

Lyle said that two years later, money from the program still hasn’t been released and won’t be until later this year.

“It underscores the lack of urgency at the enterprise level of the VA,” he said.

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The more than 150-mile ruck march will take 72 hours to complete

Student Veterans in Alabama began a more than 150-mile ruck march on Wednesday from Tuscaloosa to Auburn to raise awareness for the estimated 17 Veterans lost to each day to suicide.

The fourth annual Operation Iron Ruck — which features students from the University of Alabama and Auburn University — kickstarted outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium Wednesday in Tuscaloosa and will conclude Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn just before the rival schools' football teams face off in the Iron Bowl.

The 72-hour march consists of marchers from both schools, most carrying a 17-pound rucksack containing donated items that will be given to charities which benefit Alabama Veterans.

University of Alabama Veterans Association President Slade Salmon and Auburn University Student Affairs Association President Clay Buchanan are spearheading the effort.

"The event spans the course of three days, and our objective is to raise public awareness of Veteran suicide, with the secondary objective of raising donations for national, state and local Veteran charity organizations," Salmon told Fox News about the march.

Salmon said the event is "a way for us to memorialize the 17 Veterans who die everyday due to suicide" and noted that he uses the event to reconnect with those he served with.

"I’m not great at staying in touch with a lot of people I served with, but I make an effort to reach out during this time," Salmon said. "Isolation is a major factor in Veteran suicide. Reaching out to those we served with could be the catalyst in saving a life."

Operation Iron Ruck recently partnered with Alabama’s Challenge for Preventing Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families.

"Many Veterans, myself included, personally know another Veteran or service member who have succumbed to suicide," Buchanan told Fox News. "Through Operation Iron Ruck and the collaboration of the student Veterans of Auburn and Alabama, it truly shows that the Veteran community is strong and committed to take care of our brothers and sisters until 17 becomes zero."

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has voiced support for the march organizers' efforts, saying in a statement, "It is imperative that, as a nation, we never forget to offer our support to the brave men and women who have served our country in the military."

"We must put a greater focus on preventing Veteran suicide and on supporting these brave men and women after they return home, which is why I am so proud of the efforts of our student Veterans embarking on Operation Iron Ruck," Ivey said. "Our military men and women put it all on the line to ensure our freedoms, and we owe them a debt of gratitude. Alabama will always stand behind our Veterans."

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Kathy Roth-Douquet is the CEO of Blue Star Families and a Marine Corps spouse.

This past June marked the two-year anniversary of the tragic death of Brandon Caserta, a United States Navy petty officer who took his own life at his base in Norfolk, Virginia.

Unfortunately, suicide is not a new phenomenon among active-duty service members. But there are actions that lawmakers can take to help those struggling with mental health issues -- and work to prevent future tragedy.

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Defense Annual Suicide Report (ASR) from 2019, Caserta was one of 325 active-duty service members and one of 68 sailors who died by suicide in 2018. The report also found a five-year increase in the suicide rate for active-duty troops -- jumping from 18.5 to 24.8 suicides per 100,000 members. We have yet to see the 2019 data, but we mustn't wait on numbers to act.

After his death, Caserta's parents and friends discovered personal notes in which Brandon attributed his suicide to persistent hazing and bullying from members and leaders of his Navy helicopter squadron. Brandon's parents, Patrick and Teri, believe their son saw no options for getting medical care or mental health services, given that his chain of command was aware of the bullying and was allegedly even part of their son's harassment.

Governing bodies are trying to address the issue. In October 2018, the Defense Department enacted a requirement for the ASR to increase reporting, transparency and accountability for the department's suicide prevention efforts. Its goals included implementing policy guidance and a special governance body; standardizing and advancing data and research; and partnering with other groups across the nonprofit and private sectors. The plans also increased focus on working with some of the military's most vulnerable -- young service members and members of the National Guard, along with family members who struggle as well.

While this is a step in the right direction, there's a core missing piece that needs to make its way into Congress' Fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

Military spouses are all too aware of the challenges that come with addressing mental health issues for service members. A spouse of an active-duty service member participating in Blue Star Families' 2019 Military Family Lifestyle Survey explained, "No soldier with career aspirations will reveal true physical or mental health issues under the current system. No one. It is the number one reason we have injured soldiers, chronic pain, and unresolved mental instability, which leads to suicide."

Part of what's missing from the federal response is anonymity -- an effective method for members to seek help without fear of retribution from their command units. It is an issue brought to light in the investigation of Caserta's death, and it is backed up by data year after year.

In the 2019 MFL Survey, troops and spouses revealed that concerns about potential impacts on a service member's career were the most common reason for not seeking mental health treatment for those who had seriously considered suicide or had attempted suicide in the past year -- and that spans across active-duty, National Guard and Reserve family respondents.

The Brandon Act, introduced in June by Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and named in honor of Caserta, would require the DoD to establish a standard phrase that service members can use anonymously to initiate a mandatory and immediate mental health evaluation referral, while receiving confidential evaluations without notifying their commands. The act was successfully included in the House's version of the NDAA but has yet to be included in the final NDAA.

In our fight to reduce suicide among service members and support the mental health and well-being of our active-duty, Reserve, National Guard and Veterans, it is critical for the Brandon Act to be included in the final fiscal 2021 NDAA. We are halfway there: We must call upon Congress to act and finish the job in order to protect those service members who sacrifice for us.

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I prayed to God to just take me. For one, I was a coward, I didn’t want to do it, and I would prefer He do it on his terms,” recalled Army Sgt. Maj. Patrick McGrath, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, of contemplating suicide in 2019.

McGrath’s story goes back to his childhood. He detailed how this was a relevant point because the soldiers he serves with in the Army come from all walks of life.

“I didn’t have the best childhood,” said McGrath, who was born at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in eastern North Carolina, but grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. “My father was in the Marines for seven years, but not during a time I can remember. My mother was a drug addict and alcoholic.”

McGrath said it was after high school that he discovered the taste of alcohol.

He said he attempted to go to college, but it didn’t pan out. He ended up becoming a pizza chain manager, but didn’t feel a sense of purpose.

“I went home and told my dad I was going to look at all the services,” he said.

After joining the Army, McGrath said he still had a “backpack full of stuff” stemming from his childhood, such as low self-esteem and no sense of value, but he felt he had a purpose.

“The Army gave me a little tag that told me this is how you wear your uniform, this is how you’re supposed to act and follow the five Rs (right place, right time, right attitude, right uniform and right appearance),” he said. “This will ensure you’re successful.”

McGrath said he was on the pathway to success, but there came a moment when he drank until he blacked out. He said it was the first time in his life he thought he was like his mom, a road he didn’t want to travel.

McGrath said he was ‘boozing it up’ only on the weekends. He hid his drinking habit, and no one suspected he had a problem. He had soldiers who relied on him. He stayed focused all the while struggling with his own challenges, but his soldier gave him a sense of purpose.

“When I came down on orders and went to Korea, everything was still good,” McGrath said. “I was a first sergeant. I still had that sense of purpose, but I started drinking more. Weekends morphed into weekdays. My performance declined, but I was really good at what I did, so it appeared to those around me, I was doing what I needed to do. I had manipulated my leadership because I was getting results.”

In November 2017, the sergeants major’s list came out. His name was on the list and in August 2018 he’d be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, to attend the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

“I’m in trouble,” he remembered thinking to himself. “I knew I was going to have to leave my family, and I had no self-discipline. For 17 years, I had manipulated the Army.”

On July 13, 2018, he left Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, for Texas, and regressed back to drinking. “I showed up to the academy, was assigned a squad leader for accountability and stayed in a hotel for about 20 days before the class started Aug. 8,” McGrath said. “Following the accountability check, I would go back to my room and be drunk by 1300 (1 p.m.). I was in my room crying because I already knew I had gone too far.”

McGrath said when school started, he became a bit more disciplined because there was a requirement from the Army. However, in order to thrive and succeed in the academy, he had to be self-disciplined, an area he failed at.

“I would wake up each day and tell myself I wasn’t going to drink,” he said. “I had the shakes, but no one knew I was going through this; it was a secret. I had three roommates, too, and they had no idea.”

McGrath explained how one day he was driving to the Academy and started to plan how he was going to kill himself. “There’s these crazy overpasses in El Paso and people jump off there all the time,” he said. “That was my plan, too.”

But Feb. 5, 2019, he bolstered the courage to ask for help.

“I went into the instructors’ office at the academy and said ‘If I don’t get help, I’m going to kill myself,’ ” McGrath proclaimed. “I ended up going to resident treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas (now Joint Base San Antonio). I went back to the academy on April 9, 2019, was dropped for medical reasons, and came back to Fort Bragg.”

The support he received was opposite from what he thought it would be.

“I couldn’t comprehend the academy instructors being so supportive,” McGrath said. “I thought they would say I was letting the NCO Corps down and the academy down. Their reaction gave me hope that I could still one day wear the rank of sergeant major. The experience also impacted my spiritual relationship with God. God was using them to tell me it was going to be OK!”

Elizabeth Bechtel, Fort Bragg’s Suicide Prevention Program manager, said it is important to educate the community on Suicide Prevention/Intervention for a couple of reasons.

“The one thing we hear time and time again from those who survived an attempted suicide is they just wanted someone to listen to them,” she said. “So, teaching active listening skills and how to care when someone is in crisis is very important."

McGrath echoed that sentiment. He added how his family, the academy instructors, the treatment in San Antonio, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and having the opportunity to help others who are struggling has renewed his purpose.

He said there are a lot of people like him and he wants them to know their darkness can turn into light.

“I finished the non-resident portion of the academy on April 3, 2020 and was promoted to sergeant major August 1, 2020,” McGrath said. “I’ve been sober for 569 days.”

All service members, Veterans, and their families are encouraged to contact the Military Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 and press 1 to speak with a trained counselor. The support is free, confidential and available every day 24/7. If you or a loved one is seeking information about psychological health concerns, contact the Psychological Health Resource Center at 866-966-1020 to confidentially speak with trained health resource consultants 24/7. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 provides help.

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Master Sgt. Andrew 'Andy' Christian Marckesano served 6 full tours inAfghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and the Ranger regiment

The enemy could never break him, but what this decorated Green Beret eventually found was that his enemy was within. Friends who served with him in the military say he was the real “Captain America.”

Master Sgt. Andrew Christian Marckesano served six full tours in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and the Ranger regiment and a half dozen more combat tours overseas. He rose to become a decorated Green Beret and a Silver Star recipient. He had just moved to Washington, D.C., to start a coVeted job at the Pentagon. Two days after the Fourth of July on Monday night, after having dinner with his former battalion leader, Marckesano returned home from dinner in Old Town, Alexandria, and died by suicide in front of his wife. He had three small children and was still on active duty.

His death sent shock waves through the military. His friends, family and military leaders were at a loss. Many told Fox News that Marckesano never got over his tour in Afghanistan's Arghandab Valley in 2009 with the 2-508, a battalion that had one of the highest casualty rates of any unit during the war. “That deployment was like being in the ring with Mike Tyson for a year,” according to the battalion’s former Command Sgt Major Bert Puckett.

He sent a passionate appeal this week to the rest of the battalion: “Text me, I told you before my door is open... my phone is at hand. We did things that people make movies about and in some cases, writers and producers wouldn’t even try to write our story... the rucksack is heavy... and when it gets heavy we [&$#*] help each other, but you have to reach out... Don’t let the Valley win.”

Marckesano’s suicide was the 30th from this battalion. He is one of the 20 combat Veterans taking their lives each day -- an epidemic the military and White House are trying to stop. Last month, President Trump launched the PREVENTS Task Force with a White House ceremony.

“My administration is marshaling every resource to stop the crisis of Veteran suicide and protect our nation's most treasured heroes. They've been through so much, and it's such a deep-seated problem,” Trump said.

Staff Sgt Allen Thomas served in the same battalion as Marckesano. He died by suicide in 2013, leaving behind two daughters and his wife Danica, who was at the White House ceremony in June to launch the President's suicide prevention initiative with The Independence Fund and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Be a Hero for a Hero. They sponsor retreats for units like the 2-508 to reconnect and keep fighting for the buddy on their left and on their right.

There is also a 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line, 1-800-273-8255. The VA now has same-day access for emergency mental health care. Under the Trump Administration, Veterans have a right to seek private-sector care, at the VA’s expense, if the VA can’t provide timely care directly to the Veteran.

Thomas was a three-time combat tour infantryman with the 82nd Airborne. A suicide bomber detonated and ripped through his body. He recovered from severe polytrauma after months at Walter Reed, but struggled with PTSD. He was medically retired but he missed the military mission, according to Danica, who said he felt useless in civilian life. In September 2013, he asked his young wife to take him to the Fayetteville VA Emergency Room for a psychiatric evaluation. There were no beds so the VA sent him home with a prescription for pain killers, something that would not happen today given new procedures.

“Days later, the last words Allen said to me were ‘I love you.’ I heard the gun cock, then he went out the door and I heard the door shut on us. Just like the VA had shut the door on him,” Danica Thomas wrote of her husband’s mental breakdown that night in 2013.

“Eyewitnesses said Allen’s last words were ‘I got it. I cleared the house.’ We think at the time Allen thought he was back in Afghanistan. But in body, Allen was in our residential neighborhood in Fayetteville. He thought he was taking out the enemy, but instead, it was two innocent neighbors and their dog.”

Ann Awaldt, 68, and her husband Todd were killed that night. Allen, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, then turned the gun on himself.

“We believe he came back to the here and now and realized what happened.   Then, he fell to his knees and turned the gun on himself. I heard the crack of the gunshot from across the neighborhood,” his wife Danica wrote. “He did everything right; he wasn’t too proud to ask for help, and he asked for it. But the VA was too broken to provide it. And because of that, three lives were lost just days after he asked for help.”

Weeks later, the VA called to offer Thomas his medical appointment. “I buried my American Hero with a baby on each hip,” Danica Thomas said.

Young combat Veterans die by suicide at four times the rate of other Veterans.

Reps. Susie Lee, D-Nev., and Jack Bergman, R-Mich., introduced a bipartisan bill this week to launch the Zero Suicide Initiative at the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve Veteran care and suicide prevention, with the ultimate goal of bringing Veteran deaths by suicide to zero.

An unexpected outgrowth of the COVID-19 epidemic is that mental health resources for former combat troops, active-duty troops and their families have been a casualty of quarantine. And repeat combat tours have led seasoned troops to say the forces still being deployed to Afghanistan are "out of gas."

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Study looks at participation in community activities

Social isolation and feelings of loneliness are associated with suicidal thoughts. Consequently, the more people feel disconnected from their friends, peers and colleagues, the more isolated they become.

One antidote for social isolation is social connectedness. That is, people coming together and interacting. But there’s been little research on suicide prevention programs that target social connectedness.

Dr. Jason Chen of the VA Portland Health Care System is leading a study to establish a stronger sense of social connectedness for Veterans at high risk of suicide. He’s doing this by increasing their participation in community activities.

Chen and his team have been identifying the community engagement needs and preferences of Veterans who have been hospitalized and evaluated for psychiatric conditions. Specifically, the team interviewed participants within a week of their discharge from an inpatient psychiatric unit. They discovered Veterans analyzed for psychiatric conditions, such as PTSD, are at much greater risk than other cohorts of taking their own lives within three months after leaving the hospital.

Social connection could decrease suicidal thoughts

“When working with Veterans, I noticed that many didn’t have social connections,” Chen says. “We know that feeling connected to others can be a form of protection against suicide. So I thought to myself, if the Veterans I work with don’t have many connections, perhaps we could help them create new connections through community activities. My hope is that by helping Veterans increase their engagement in community activities, they’ll feel a stronger sense of social connection that will, in turn, decrease their level of suicidal thoughts.

“The first part of our study was to learn more from Veterans about what gets in the way of connecting. For example, we interviewed 30 Veterans to learn about their past experiences connecting to the community and their thoughts about what would get in the way in the future. Our Veteran sample varied in age from their 20s through their 70s. The average age was 48. We wanted to understand a broad range of experiences across different eras of conflict and generations.”

Suicide prevention is VA’s top clinical priority

Eventually, Chen and his colleagues plan to create clinical toolkits for VA and community figures. The toolkits will focus on increasing social connectedness for Veterans in this vulnerable population.

VA considers suicide prevention its top clinical priority. The most updated analysis of Veteran suicide rates, issued in 2016, notes Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This compares with 22% in 2010.

Chen and his team have identified patterns of Veterans’ needs and preferences for social connectedness.

“Veterans appear to be interested in a broad range of activities,” he says. “However, they noted having difficulty knowing how to access these activities and how to make new social connections. Within our sample, Veterans have discussed needing more hands-on support for engaging in community activities. They generally value and believe these activities are important for their wellness and recovery. But they could use extra support for navigating logistics and interactions with new people. We plan for this support to come from a Veteran peer support specialist. That is a Veteran who has undergone his or her own mental health recovery and is now helping support other Veterans with their experiences.”

Working with communities

Researchers are partnering with communities to provide a broad range of activities tailored to the interests of Veterans who are at high risk for suicide. These activities include engaging with Veterans or non-Veterans in the Chinese martial art tai chi or outdoor activities, such as fly fishing or playing music.

“We do not have good evidence that any one type of activity is more protective than another,” Chen says. “They’re worthwhile as long as folks develop a sense of belonging and feel like they’re giving back to others.”

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After a New Jersey Veteran died by suicide outside a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Northfield five years ago, a government watchdog criticized the lack of prompt appointments and follow-up care, and the VA said it had fixed the problems.

But after a Somers Point Veteran being treated at the same clinic tried to kill himself last month, Rep. Jeff Van Drew called for an investigation into whether the problems truly had been fixed.

Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., has asked the VA’s inspector general to look into the Wilmington, Delaware, VA center and the Northfield clinic that it oversees, to see if the attempted suicide by Chaoe Perry of Somers Point was an aberration or a continuation of a long-standing deficiency in getting troubled Veterans the care they needed.

“I have a responsibility to find out what all the facts are relating to this case because it’s an awful thing for anybody to have to go through,” Van Drew told NJ Advance Media. “I know they’re working very hard over there at the clinic and really trying to do everything that they can.

“I think things have improved a great deal. I just want to see where we are, so a good independent set of eyes is always invaluable.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, meanwhile, asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough Wednesday to “provide rapid and robust suicide prevention programming in South Jersey.”

He asked McDonough in a letter to have VA staff on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since otherwise Veterans in South Jersey need to make appointments at a local clinic or travel to Wilmington.

“These barriers to immediate access for Veterans in need are a burden on South Jersey Veterans and have clearly impacted the lives and well-being of my constituents,” Booker said.

The VA said in a statement that mental health care at Wilmington has “improved significantly,” including through steps such as making Veterans more aware of services, hiring more providers in South Jersey and creating a mobile crisis response team for Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Perry, who had been receiving mental health treatment at Northfield, set himself on fire Nov. 20 at an Atlantic City gasoline station. He survived. Perry’s spouse said he could not get the services he needed beyond his regular appointments with a therapist and psychiatrist, Van Drew said.

The incident was reminiscent of the 2016 death of Charles R. Ingram III of Egg Harbor Township, who had been waiting three months after requesting to see his psychologist before setting himself on fire outside the Northfield clinic.

Following Ingram’s suicide, Van Drew’s predecessor, Frank LoBiondo, joined Booker and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez is asking the inspector general to investigate.

The IG report criticized the lack of prompt appointments and follow-up care, saying procedures were needed to better track patients, to provide timely appointments and to follow up if someone misses a session.

The VA said it agreed with the recommendations and said the procedures would be in place by 2018.

Van Drew said the VA planned to triple the size of the Northfield clinic, while Booker introduced legislation in November to make New Jersey and nine other states eligible for additional Veterans clinics.

The following Department of Veterans Affairs mental health services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

— Veterans Crisis Line/National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, text to 838255, or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

— Vet Center Call Center. Call 1-877-WAR-VETS to reach a confidential call center for combat Veterans and family members to talk other combat Veterans and their families.

— Urgent Care/Emergency Services. Search for VA medical centers or call 911 or contact local community emergency departments.

— Same Day Access to Care for Primary Care and Mental Health. To find a VA Medical Center with same day services, click here.

— Vet Center Resources. Vet Centers provide free individual and group counseling for combat Veterans and their families. you and your family, even for those who do not receive VA health cate or disability compensation.

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WASHINGTON — The family of Sgt. Brieux Dash, a Veteran who died by suicide in a Department of Veterans Affairs mental health unit last year, filed a claim against the VA on Friday, arguing that the agency’s “deliberate indifference” and “complete disregard for patient safety” contributed to Dash’s death.

Dash, 33, hung himself March 14, 2019, on a door in the locked mental health unit at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. His death prompted an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, which found unsafe practices in the unit.

Managers of the unit didn’t pay enough attention to training requirements, the IG’s office wrote in its report. There was also a lack of oversight from regional and national offices, as well as staffing issues, inoperable cameras and too much time between nurses’ safety rounds. In addition, no one had recognized the risk posed by corridor doors.

Dash’s wife, Emma, and their three children, ages 17, 15 and 5, are pursuing wrongful death claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act “because the VA breached its duty to provide Brieux with a place of safety and prevent his suicide,” reads the claim, filed Friday by Bertling Law Group.

Dash was an Army Veteran who had deployed twice to Iraq, once in 2007 and again in 2009. He had a 50% disability rating with the VA for his depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Brieux had a difficult time transitioning to civilian life,” the claim reads. “The realities of war made him a different man.”

He attempted suicide twice before, once in 2016 and again March 11, 2019. After Dash tried to use a belt to hang himself March 11, his wife called emergency responders, who took him to the West Palm Beach VA. Emma Dash worked as a pharmacy technician at the VA hospital and told officers that’s where he should go.

“She now experiences deep remorse and guilt for making that recommendation,” the claim says.

At the unit — a 25-bed, high-intensity, locked mental health area — Dash was red-flagged as being at high risk for suicide. During his multiple days in the unit, Dash was cooperative, social and sleeping and eating well, the IG reported. He agreed to take prescribed antidepressants and was eventually designated as “low risk” for suicide.

However, when Dash’s discharge was delayed on the fourth day of his hospital stay, he became agitated and screamed that he wanted to go home.

“In a fit of rage, Brieux isolated himself behind the closed door of room 235-1, where he wrapped a self-made noose around his neck and hung himself from the corridor door,” Emma Dash’s claim reads.

A fellow patient found Dash, who was later pronounced dead in the hospital’s emergency room.

Following the IG report last year, the hospital initiated a plan that included more frequent and random safety rounds in the unit. The hospital director told the IG that they would install over-the-door-alarm systems and working cameras.

At the time, the IG’s office asserted that hospital leaders deflected responsibility, failed to perform their duties and “lacked awareness of patient safety requirements.”

“Facility leaders and managers only started to respond aggressively to longstanding deficient conditions after” Dash’s suicide, the IG’s report states.

In addition to the unsafe practices at the hospital, Emma Dash’s claim says VA employees didn’t contact her in a timely manner to plan for her husband’s discharge.

“This critically important communication failure resulted in a significant delay of Brieux’s discharge and caused further destabilization of his physical and mental condition,” according to the claim.

Emma and Brieux Dash met at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Va., at age 14, the claim says. They had their first child in 2002 and were married in 2006, the same year Dash joined the military.

Before his suicide, Dash had recently lost his job and said for several days that he thought his family would be better off if he were dead.

Four days before his hospitalization, he received a notice from the VA, stating that the agency had overpaid him nearly $20,000 in benefits and would be stalling any future payments until the amount was paid. Emma Dash’s claim says the letter “sent Brieux into a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, emotional distress and fragility.”

The family has “sustained an indescribable loss since Brieux died by suicide,” the claim concludes. “The VA should do the right thing by admitting liability and reasonably compensating the estate of Brieux Dash for the damages it has sustained.”

Peter Bertling, the family's attorney, planned to file separate claims for Emma Dash and each of the three children.

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The way that Douglas Sims spoke to his wife was unusual.

It was 2011 and the two were sitting at a table as their daughter practiced with her swim team. They had a rare year "off" from Army life for Sims, then a lieutenant colonel, to participate in a fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was six months removed from a deployment to Afghanistan where he commanded the 1st Squadron, of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. He had just two days between leaving command in Germany and arriving in a "completely different world" for his fellowship.

"Are you OK?" his wife, Fay asked. The way that he spoke sounded off, she told him.

"Of course, I'm OK. Why wouldn't I be OK?" Sims said he shot back to her.

But the question stayed with him and over the remaining time in his fellowship, reshaped his own understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder, behavioral health and the importance of taking time to build mental strength, just as he has taken time each morning of his Army career to build physical strength.

Sims, now a major general, can draw a line from his wife's question to the mental fitness policies that he enforced later during his brigade command, and through to the current policies that he enacted last year after taking command of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley, Kan.

Soon after hearing his wife's concern, Sims said he took his post-deployment health assessment and read each question more carefully. He realized many applied to his own emotions. With the advice of a fellow officer who had attended counseling, Sims made the decision to go himself.

"I found it to be extraordinarily helpful," he said.

Shortly after arriving at Fort Riley in August 2020, Sims announced a division policy that every soldier must attend at least one counseling session a year -- no matter their rank or position. It's part of a program known on base as "Victory Wellness," which also requires soldiers forgo physical training every other Tuesday to participate in mental fitness training.

Across the military, officials have created programs and initiatives to tackle mental health issues and help tackle the suicide crisis in the force. Every three months, the Defense Department releases a report on prevention efforts and the number of service members who have died by suicide.

The latest report shows since 2014, when 273 service members died by suicide, the number of deaths has ticked upward. By 2019, the number of deaths grew to 350 and then again to 385 in 2020.

Deaths in the Army had increased, from 146 suicides in 2019 to 175 in 2020. Last year, service leaders identified suicide as one of the three corrosive behaviors that they aim to eradicate from the force along with sexual harassment and assault and extremism.

Each death is absolutely tragic, Sims said.

"We are trying to get after every one of those," he said. "We owe it to our soldiers. We owe it to the families of our soldiers, and we owe it to our country."

Victory Wellness attacks all three corrosives, and it all begins with creating "an environment in which people feel respected, in which people feel valued, and they know that their leaders genuinely care for their well-being," Sims said.

While the counseling sessions do aim to help the 10% of soldiers who are facing problems in life, the deeper goal is to reach the 90% who are not.

"It's to help them to thrive even more, with a thought that we all end up in that 10% at some point in our lives," Sims said. "We have marital problems, our parents get older, our children are having problems, we're physically injured, whatever that is, we're going to end up in that 10% and we hope that we're able to come out of that."

Eventually, he'd like soldiers to feel attending counseling is as normal as a trip to the dentist, which is also mandatory.

A culture shift

The pilot counseling program for Victory Wellness began in December and started with all battalion commands and above, so leaders had first-hand experience. Then in January, the effort began in earnest. More than 6,500 soldiers had been through counseling as of August. In total, about 15,000 soldiers are assigned to the Kansas base.

The past 10 years of Sims' career had been building toward this policy, but his timing lined up with the Army turning more attention toward soldier well-being. He arrived at Fort Riley about the time that Army Forces Command began implementing Foundational Readiness Days, one day of the month dedicated to building relationships in units.

III Corps, the Fort Hood, Texas-based headquarters that is part of Fort Riley's chain of command, had begun the similar People First campaign to build trust among soldiers and leaders after a particularly difficult year on base.

Spc. Vanessa Guillen was killed at Fort Hood by a fellow soldier in an arms room. Her family said she faced sexual harassment on base, but was too afraid to report it. Her death and those allegations led to two Army-initiated investigations that found significant problems with the culture on the base and a distrust and misunderstanding of programs related to sexual assault and harassment prevention and behavioral health.

III Corps commander Lt. Gen. Pat White has implemented all four divisions in his command conduct People First training in a way that matches its own culture. In July, White held a meeting where Sims, along with commanders of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, and the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., were able to hear the successes and challenges of each division's separate initiatives.

From that meeting, White said, he will see what's working at each of the bases that he oversees and develop policies this fall that could spread across the corps.

"This is going to become annual, so we'll continue to learn and improve up until such point in time that it's kind of normal," White said.

Consistency has been a major factor in earning buy-in from soldiers, said Lt. Col. Paul Godson and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Hardy, the command team of the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, which is part of the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. Whether at home or in the field, the efforts have to be deliberate, and they have to be genuine, Godson said.

While he said he can't directly link the outcomes, soldiers are showing improvement in their group and individual skills. This year's gunnery performances improved over last year and about 25% of soldiers in the squadron's infantry company earn their Expert Infantryman Badge, which is up from previous years.

"During our winter gunnery we faced negative 20-degree wind chills. It was rough, but we had zero cold weather injuries," Godson said. "I attributed a lot of that to taking care of each other and having those discussions and knowing each other that much better."

They soon will deploy to Europe as part of their brigade's nine-month rotation in Operation Atlantic Resolve and expectations of Victory Wellness remain in place, including the counseling sessions.

"That's how we demonstrate to our soldiers that we're taking this seriously. The commander and I were some of the first ones to get over there and get checked on and being able to just sit there with a counselor, and just kind of talk about whatever it is that's on your mind is good," Hardy said. "It's liberating to be able to just get some stuff off your chest with somebody who's not going to judge you."

Anecdotally, Hardy said he knew of at least 10 soldiers from their squadron who have chosen to continue seeing a counselor based on the outcome of their required visit.

To make certain the program doesn't strain resources or limit the amount of counseling appointments available for those seeking support outside of Victory Wellness, up to 10 of the base's military and family life counselors rotate through the program on 60- and 90-day rotations. They see three soldiers in morning and three in the afternoon in one-hour blocks. They do not use behavioral health specialists or chaplains, so they remain free for in-the-moment crises, which still exist, Sims said.

The average session runs between 45 and 60 minutes, he said. There are no medical records kept or notes taken.

Measuring impact

Sims has three main goals in sending every single soldier and leader to counseling: to make people stronger, to expose everyone to the experience, and to remove the stigma associated with being seen or known as attending counseling.

Dr. Amy Adler, acting director of the Research Transition Office and senior consultant for the Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, both part of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, is studying the Victory Wellness program and the impact the mandatory counseling is having on soldiers as well as how leader participation impacts a soldier's perception of the program.

Using online surveys, the research team studies soldiers' opinions of the program and if attending a counseling session helps to reduce any preconceptions that they might have about seeking mental health support.

"It's really hard to shift those kinds of beliefs … because these can be deeply ingrained," Adler said. "It can be part of the solution. No one thing is going to fix everything. No one intervention is going to take care of everything. This is all just sort of how can you shift in the discussion? How can you shift the culture?"

While study is ongoing, Adler has already seen when a soldier reports that their leadership attends and encourages participation in Victory Wellness, the soldier also reports finding the activities more helpful.

While the study isn't looking at why this happens, Adler said it relates back to the general understanding of the influence leaders have over subordinates.

"They lead by example," she said. "They establish priorities, and they communicate explicitly and implicitly what matters. I think all subordinates at all levels are intuitively responsive to what the leader is doing."

The study is the second time that Adler has worked with Sims on his efforts to improve mental fitness of troops. As brigade commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Sims first implemented the idea of setting aside one day of physical training every two weeks to focus on the mind and the heart.

On those days, units sometimes have difficult conversations, learn from guest speakers, and sometimes they do teamwork and community service, such as a clean-up project for the local zoo or a soccer game with kids in an underserved community. Some days include exercises that put resiliency skills and knowledge to the test.

Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Durgin served under Sims as he laid out initial concepts of Victory Wellness with the 2nd Cavalry, and now as the senior enlisted leader of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, which has deployed as part of 1st Brigade's rotation in Europe. Durgin said by watching the program evolve to what it is today, he's learned it's about more than leaders just using the designated time to engage with soldiers. It's about presence and genuine interaction.

Durgin is now stationed in Poland and he said a walk throughout the base will show that leaders are present and open to engage soldiers and the community in conversation. And sometimes, it's as simple as a game of table tennis, he said.

"That could be just walking into the gym or the [recreation center], and just saying, ‘Hey, what are you doing? Let's play a game,'" he said. "It starts with trash talking and everything else, and then you can see the manifestation of tranquility of calmness of wanting to be here not because they have to be, but because they want to."

Now with about a year of Victory Wellness complete in the battalion, Durgin said they've seen improved retention rates and he "100% believes" in the program's ability to create a unit where soldiers feel valued and important to the work. In a deployed environment, he said it's crucial that soldiers feel they are each other's "family away from your family."

Through it all, Sims said he's been proud to see the program has not hampered the division's operational readiness.

"It's two sides of the same coin," he said. "We can think that we're attaining high operational readiness, but if we do it on the backs of our soldiers, then, in fact, it's going to be hollow."

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An Iraqi war Veteran claims he’s being “punished” by a Long Island judge for calling the Veterans Affairs helpline about his messy child custody case — ultimately costing him time with his two kids.

James Gonedes’ lawyer David Mejias is pushing to get Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Erica Prager booted from all custody cases, especially those “involving the parental rights of Veterans to whom she has done a tremendous disservice,” Mejias wrote Thursday in a letter to the county’s administrative judge.

The distraught 35-year-old US Marine, who has done three tours in Iraq, called the Veteran Affairs hotline late last month over concerns about a recent change to his custody agreement with his estranged wife, Norma.

“This situation with the visitation with my kids really had me upset,” Gonedes, now a nurse tending to COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit at Stony Brook University Hospital, told The Post by phone. “I was worried I wasn’t going to see my kids.”

In early June, Prager changed the arrangement from a rotating monthly schedule, which accommodated Gonedes’ fluctuating work hours, to two set weekends a month and at least one weekday.

Worried sick that the rigid visitation schedule would conflict with work, the dad of two called the VA to vent — as he’s done “every now and then.”

“You’re told at the VA if you ever think you want to talk … use this helpline,” Gonedes explained. “I did what I was told … I really just feel I was punished for it.”

Norma, who is listed as his next of kin with the VA, found out about his call for help — when the federal agency called her while doing a wellness check on him.

Her lawyer then flagged Gonedes’ “mental health status” and “psychological stress” to Prager, who stripped him of his overnight visits with his kids, ages 6 and 7, pending a hearing Friday.

Gonedes claims the judge’s decision also “emboldened” his wife to stop him from seeing his daughter on her 6th birthday on July 1.

In his letter to the county’s administrative judge, Mejias said Prager should be removed from custody cases due to her “complete lack of knowledge and insight into matters involving families and children.”

Mejias claims that Prager’s June 25 decision was made without conducting a hearing first and without either side even asking for her to take away Gonedes’ overnight visits with his kids.

Gonedes, meanwhile, said he’s afraid to ever call the helpline again — and he’s warned his Veteran friends about his situation.

“I feel like [the helpline was] taken away from me. It’s a shame,” he said. “Talking things through really helped me out. I will never call this helpline ever again.”

Despite their September custody agreement, Gonedes and Norma have been duking it out in court since October, with Gonedes accusing her of not honoring the deal, and her asking Prager to change it — sparking the judge’s June 8 decision to set the firmer visitation schedule.

Gonedes’ lawyer David Mejias is pushing for Justice Prager to be removed from all custody cases.

Mejias is appealing that ruling.

“What the judge did was make a contentious matter that had been resolved by the parties and created a dysfunctional situation that is resulting in a lot of litigation that neither party can afford,” Mejias told The Post. “This is an egregious case where a judge abridged my clients’ rights to impose her own view on the visitation they should have.”

He added, “This is such an affront to a guy who is an American hero.”

Norma’s lawyer, Nelson De La Cruz, said in a statement: “Out of respect for the Gonedes children, the court, the sanctity of matrimonial proceedings, and the privacy of the parties, neither I, nor Ms. Gonedes have any comment relating to any allegations communicated to you.

“Ms. Gonedes remains deeply committed to the best interests of the parties’ children.”

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for New York state court system, said: “It’s a pending matrimonial case with an appeal filed in addition — those are the venues to litigate this case.”

Prager did not return a request for comment.

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After Teri and Patrick Caserta’s son, Navy Aviation Electrician’s Mate Striker Brandon Caserta, died by suicide in June 2018, the couple channeled their grief into raising awareness of the impact that leadership can have on junior sailors and the struggles facing troops who need mental health care.

Since Brandon’s death, the Casertas have walked the hallways of Congress pressing for legislation they believe could save lives: a way for service members in a mental health crisis to “tap out” of their situations, getting help without retribution.

At least one lawmaker seems to be listening.

During a Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee hearing Wednesday on military and Veterans suicides, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., recounted Caserta’s death and asked pointed questions about “toxic” leadership, as well as Pentagon policies that require mental health professionals to notify a command in some behavioral health cases.

Gillibrand asked Navy Capt. Michael Colston, the Defense Department’s director for mental health programs, whether command climate could discourage a service member from seeking help.

“Would you agree that … fearing retribution from supervisors, and the possibility of a mental health provider contacting his command, may have dissuaded Brandon from seeking help?” Gillibrand asked.

Before his death, Caserta was struggling with several problems, including depression over washing out of Navy Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training after breaking his leg, disappointment in his new rating and job, and stress over his immediate supervisor, a petty officer who was known to be verbally abusive and had been shifted between units for his behavior.

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The mother of a Veteran who died by suicide in a Veterans Affairs hospital parking lot last April has filed an $8.25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the department, saying that medical mistakes by VA physicians and staffers led directly to her son’s suffering.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Rhonda Machelle Wilson — mother of Gary Pressley, the 29-year-old Navy Veteran who died outside the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Georgia — said her son’s death was preventable if VA employees had done a better job responding to obvious signs of distress.

That includes a call from Pressley’s sister on the day of his death, during which she told a staffer at the medical center that Pressley was in possession of a gun, planning to harm himself while waiting in a car in a nearby lot.

“(She) told the operator exactly where he was located based on his GPS signal,” the lawsuit states. “No one from the VA attempted to locate or assist Gary, who was on the brink of death. Instead, more than three hours later, Gary was found in the VA parking lot sitting in his car.”

Pressely’s death was one of three Veteran suicides to take place on VA medical center campuses in a span of just five days last spring. Although department officials have stated that on-campus suicides have decreased in recent years, the public nature of the deaths sparked renewed interest from lawmakers over whether VA officials have proper protocols in place to aid Veterans in distress as soon as they step into VA property.

At least 35 Veterans have died by suicide on VA campuses in the last two years. In recent months, VA leaders have promised increased patrols around the grounds of all department hospitals and offered new training to front-line personnel on how to respond to possible suicidal situations. They’ve also installed more cameras and safety devices to lessen the chance of self-harm.

Officials have said in the past that Veterans may be drawn to those locations because they believe staff will be more prepared to handle the situation than family members or others.

But the new lawsuit charges that VA was completely unprepared to handle Pressley’s case. In addition to a lack of response to reports of his suicidal behavior, attorneys allege that Pressley’s medical care was mishandled for months prior to his death.

Pressley, who was medically discharged from the Navy after a motorcycle accident, was taking a series of opiate medications for chronic pain and under the care of a private-sector doctor paid for by VA funds. When that doctor stopped seeing VA patients over payment disputes with the department, Pressley’s prescriptions were also disrupted.

After navigating a series of appointments and tests over six weeks, while waiting for physicians at the Georgia VA medical center to fill those prescriptions, Pressley returned to his car and took his own life. Security personnel said a note beside him read “this is what happens by punishing already suffering people."

The lawsuit says that Pressley was “driven to crisis by both the effects of withdrawal and ineffective pain management,” a direct quote from an op-ed written by VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in October 2018 on the importance of proper medication management and suicide prevention strategy.

In a statement, VA press secretary Christina Mandreucci said that the department “does not typically comment on pending litigation” but added that "suicide prevention is VA’s highest clinical priority, and the department is taking significant steps to address the issue.”

According to department statistics, about 20 Veterans, active-duty troops and other service members die by suicide each day. That figure has remained steady in recent years, even as multiple administrations have increased support programs and funding to address the problem.

Of that group, only about 30 percent were regularly receiving care from the VA. Officials have said that Veterans who are in contact with department health services show lower rates of suicide than their peers, and have worked on increasing outreach and public education about crisis services in an effort to draw down the numbers.

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After 15 months of work, the White House’s task force on preventing Veterans suicide will unveil plans for more federal coordination with community providers on mental health outreach, promotion of “safe storage” programs for firearms owners and a public awareness campaign that mental health problems need not be fatal.

President Donald Trump called the announcement “beyond what anyone has ever done” to address the problem of Veterans suicide during a White House event on Wednesday afternoon.

“Today we’re unveiling our roadmap to empower Veterans,and end the national tragedy of suicide, a tremendous problem,” he told a crowd of supporters and Veterans advocates. “My administration is marshaling every resource to stop the crisis of Veteran suicide and protect our nation’s most treasured heroes. They’ve been through so much. And it’s such a deep seated problem.”

The President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) is designed to be a comprehensive federal approach to the issue, one that senior White House officials have labled the first real push by top government leaders to address the public health threat of suicide.

But the effort has drawn criticism in recent months from some in the Veterans community for taking too long to complete and not offering enough specific actions or legislative proposals on the problem.

About 20 Veterans and active military personnel die by suicide each day, according to the latest figures from Department of Veterans Affairs researchers and state census data.

That information typically lags about two years behind current conditions, creating difficulties in gauging how effective new outreach programs are at helping Veterans. White House officials have promised new database work to improve that turn-around time as part of the new effort

The new suicide prevention roadmap provides 10 recommendations to deal with the issue, including the new public health campaign to be launched later this summer.

Administration officials said that work would echo past campaigns on issues like drunk driving, but focused on myths surrounding suicide. At least part of the messaging will include encouraging Americans to talk openly about mental health and suicidal feelings, to dispel assumptions that such conversation may endanger folks struggling with those problems.

VA and other federal agencies have also begun discussing new partnerships with local charities, academic institutions and private-sector businesses to tackle the problem. That would will include some suicide prevention training and general mental health wellness practices.

Much of the work will be broadly applicable to all Americans, not just Veterans. Suicide is among the top 10 leading causes of death in America today, according to statistics from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Among the more controversial aspects of the roadmap may be discussions related to firearm safety and other “lethal means.”

Mental health advocates for years have pushed for limiting troubled Veterans’ access to guns in an effort to eliminate the potential of impulsive and deadly decisions, but gun rights groups have pushed back on those ideas as an infringement of Veterans constitutional rights.

Senior administration officials said the roadmap does not call for any new restrictions on gun ownership or possession, but will focus on “education” regarding safe storage programs and the importance of securing any potentially lethal items from individuals predisposed to self-harm.

That work will include partnerships with Veterans service organizations, local law enforcement and sport shooting groups, in an effort to calm concerns that such discussions are geared towards safety and not confiscating weapons.

The plan also calls for VA officials to “streamline access to innovative suicide prevention programs and interventions by expanding the network of qualified healthcare providers.”

Details of that work — and whether it could run into existing fights over private-care access for Veterans health care — were not immediately available.

The roadmap was originally scheduled to be released in March after a year of work, but administration and VA officials’ focus on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic delayed the announcement by more than three months.

White House officials did not inform congressional leaders about the contents of the roadmap report until just a few hours before the president’s afternoon announcement. Administration officials said the roadmap will help guide future legislative priorities on the issue, but did not provide any immediate measures that will be pushed as part of the plan.

The PREVENTS office is planning a public technology challenge later this summer to develop “a platform that will serve as a resource of evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention solutions” and a new suicide prevention survey to gather Veterans thoughts about existing resources.

The president’s announcement drew praise from some congressional Republicans but scorn from House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif. In a statement, he blasted the roadmap as “tepid calls for more research” and “meek public education campaigns,” and promised more comprehensive legislative solutions in coming weeks.

“We have much more substantial work to do to prevent Veteran suicide and ultimately help save Veterans’ lives,” he said.

Veterans experiencing a mental health emergency can contact the Veteran Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and select option 1 for a VA staffer. Veterans, troops or their family members can also text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for assistance.

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A 1-month-old baby boy has been orphaned and the St. Lucie County, Fla. Sheriff’s Office is in mourning. Both of the child’s parents, deputies with the sheriff’s office, took their own lives late last week and early this week.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara announced the deaths of Deputy Clayton Osteen and Deputy Victoria Pacheco on Tuesday via social media.

Osteen, was formerly a Marine Corps lance corporal who served as a rifleman in 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Fort Pierce, Fla.

Mascara wrote “it is impossible for us to fully comprehend” what was happening in Osteen and Pacheco’s private life.

“As sheriff, I saw these two deputies as young, ambitious and a great complement to my already amazing group of professionals,” Mascara said. “To the general public, and sometimes even myself, it’s easy to view law enforcement as superhuman … but let’s not forget that they’re human just like us.

“Law enforcement deal with not only the day-to-day stress we all face, but also the stress of those whom they serve in our community, which can sometimes be very challenging.”

According to Mascara, the St. Lucie Sheriff’s Office went to a call on Friday just before midnight and the end of 2021, on which they learned Osteen had tried to take his own life. Osteen’s family removed him from life support Sunday.

On Tuesday morning, Mascara said, the department learned that Pacheco “took her own life in the wake of Deputy Osteen’s death.”

Self harm, especially to the point of taking your own life, is never a good answer to life problems. If you feel like self harm, talk to someone or several someones. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 800-273-TALK (8255), is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people in emotional distress.

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In 2019, Gary Pressley took his own life. Now, his mom is filling a claim against the Veterans Administration.

DUBLIN, Ga. — A Central Georgia mom has filed a wrongful death claim against the Veterans Administration after her son committed suicide last year at the Dublin VA.

In April 2019, Gary Pressley shot himself in the chest, ending his life because he was in so much pain, according to legal documents obtained by 13WMAZ.

This month, Pressley's mother, Rhonda Machelle Wilson, filed a claim against the VA for more than $8.2 million.

"I just wish that they would have found him and stopped him, locked him up, did what they had to do," Wilson said.

Back in 2019, 28-year-old Gary Pressley died by suicide after shooting himself in the chest in the parking lot of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center.

Documents say he left a suicide note that reads, "This is what happens by punishing already-suffering people."

The back of the note said, "Thank you for the release."

"It was just a battle with the medication, the doctors -- I mean, I watched him cry," Wilson said.

After watching her son lose his life, Rhonda Wilson filed a wrongful death claim against the Veterans Administration for $8,250,006.

One document says the VA referred Pressley to a pain specialist in Stockbridge who got his pain under control, but the doctor stopped treating Veterans because the VA owed her hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Currently, I'm dealing with four of these different cases actively," Attorney Peter Bertling said.

Bertling, an attorney in California, is handling the claim. He focuses on medical malpractice cases dealing with Veterans and military families.

"This is a situation where it seems to be a pretty clear-cut case of liability. There is really no question of what happened here," Bertling said.

Wilson says she hopes her claim will force the VA to provide more resources for Veterans facing mental illnesses.

"He would have wanted some change to go into effect to make things better for other Vets," Wilson said.

We reached out to the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center for a statement:

VA does not typically comment on pending litigation.

However, Suicide prevention is VA’s highest clinical priority, and the department is taking significant steps to address the issue.

As the Joint Commission explains: “The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been able to reduce the number of in-hospital suicides from 4.2 per 100,000 admissions to 0.74 per 100,000 admissions on mental health units, an 82.4% reduction, suggesting that well-designed quality improvement initiatives can lead to a reduction in the occurrence of these tragic events.”

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that, when it comes to reducing suicides among certain inpatients, VA “offers some clues as to what might work” for other health care systems.

All VA health care facilities now provide same-day services in primary and mental health for Veterans who need them.

We encourage any Veteran, family member or friend concerned about a Veteran’s mental health to contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 or text 838255. Trained professionals are also available to chat at www.Veteranscrisisline.net. The lines are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Just as there is no single cause of suicide, no single organization can end Veteran suicide alone.

That’s why the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) executive order aims to bring together stakeholders across all levels of government and in the private sector to work side by side to provide our Veterans with the mental health and suicide prevention services they need. The EO builds on VA’s public-health approach to suicide prevention, which focuses on equipping communities to help Veterans get the right care, whenever and wherever they need it.

VA’s 2019 national Veteran suicide prevention report is available here: https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5317

David Whitmer

Medical Center Director, Carl Vinson VAMC

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163 service members committed suicide in Q3 2021

Over 150 members of the U.S. military took their own lives in the third quarter of 2021 which represents a greater total than the number of service members who have died from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

According to data released by the Pentagon, 163 service members committed suicide in Q3 of 2021 which broke down into 70 active service members, 56 reserve members, and 37 members of the National Guard.

Suicides among active members of the military dropped from Q2 to Q3 but suicides rose among reserve and National Guard members.

Nearly twice as many members of the U.S. military died of suicide from July to September than have died from the coronavirus during the entire pandemic.

As of January 8, 86 members of the military have died from the coronavirus.

In September, the total number of coronavirus deaths in the military was 43 and the doubling of deaths from September to January is partially due to the Delta variant spike, the Pentagon says.

A total of 476 members of the U.S. military committed suicide in 2021 through three quarters. In 2020, Pentagon data shows that 701 service members committed suicide.

In December, the military began taking disciplinary action against U.S. service members who had not complied with the federal government's vaccine mandate. More than 200 Marines have been booted from the United States military for refusing the vaccine.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.

This summer, a research paper concluded that a staggering 30,177 American active military personnel and Veterans involved in post-9/11 wars are estimated to have died by suicide – a figure at least four times greater than the 7,057 service members who were killed in combat during that time.

The statistics emerged this summer in a report from the Cost of War Project – a joint research effort between Brown University and Boston University.

"Unless the U.S. government and U.S. society makes significant changes in the ways we manage the mental health crisis among our service members and Veterans, suicide rates will continue to climb," the paper warns. "That is a cost of war we cannot accept."

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The Department of Veterans Affairs launched a new suicide prevention outreach program earlier this month to contact the more than 200,000 troops who leave the military annually. The goal is to reach out to each at least three times in the first year of transition to civilian life to inform them of the availability of VA mental health services.

Veterans in the first year of transition are particularly vulnerable, and the stress "can lead to challenges or unmet health care needs," VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in remarks announcing the launch of the "Solid Start" program for new Veterans.

Under Solid Start, Veterans in the first year of transition will be contacted via phone, email or text at least three times to keep them abreast of available benefits and services and to offer help navigating the system.

Other Veterans and some dependents are being recruited to make the contacts, according to the VA.

Solid Start is part of the VA's new focus on outreach in suicide prevention. Wilkie and other VA officials have previously noted that at least 14 of the previously estimated 20 Veterans who die by suicide daily have never had contact with the department.

The VA altered its calculation of the daily suicide rate for Veterans in its annual National Suicide Prevention Report, released in September, based on data from 2017, the most recent available.

The report said the daily suicide rate for Veterans is now calculated at 17 under a different assessment method. The lower number was arrived at by eliminating active service members, as well as former National Guard and Reserve members who had never been federally activated, from the overall count, the VA said.

Whether the daily rate is 17 or 20, most suicides occur in the first year of transition, VA officials said in a news release on the Solid Start program.

"Veterans within their first year of separation from uniformed service experience suicide rates nearly two times higher than the overall Veteran suicide rate," the release said.

"I think we get it" on the need for more outreach, Dr. Matthew A. Miller, acting director of the VA's Suicide Prevention Program, said at a Dec. 4 hearing of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel.

Miller said the emphasis under Solid Start will be to make contact with transitioning Veterans within the first month of discharge, separation or retirement to "offer them connections and resources," and to offer them "connections to mental health services."

However, he said in prepared testimony that the VA "alone cannot end Veteran suicide," noting the expansion of the department's "suicide prevention efforts into a public health approach" including more involvement with local and state providers.

"We must do more to support Veterans before they reach a crisis point, which is why we are working with internal partners like VA's Homeless Program Office and [the] Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation," in addition to outreach to "multiple external partners and organizations," Miller said.

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Helping survivors work through emotions

Veterans have a significantly higher suicide rate than other adults in the U.S. This means Veterans are also more likely to have known someone who took their own life. Uniting for Suicide Postvention (USPV) helps make sense of a suicide loss. The program connects survivors with resources to help them work through powerful and unique emotions specific to this type of grief.

Compared with many other kinds of loss, suicide can be particularly challenging for survivors. Specifically, they must wrestle with the difficult moral, societal and religious implications.

Shock at the suddenness of the death may compound their grief. Or they may feel a mix of shame, anger, guilt and, sometimes, relief.

Some survivors blame themselves for not noticing warning signs, even though such signs may not have been obvious. And the effects extend beyond close family members. Even first responders, who never personally knew the deceased person, can be affected emotionally by the suicide scene.

USPV provides postvention information and resources to assist survivors as they navigate their healing journey, both immediately after the loss and in the months and years that follow.

What is postvention, and who benefits from it?

Suicide prevention aims to avert incident, while postvention fosters healing afterward, for those touched by the loss. With tens of thousands of suicides every year in the U.S., coping with the aftermath is an unfortunate reality for more people than some might think. For every suicide, an estimated average of 135 people are affected.

Beyond the immediate circle of grieving family members and friends, those who regularly interacted with the person who died also can be affected. This includes coworkers, doctors, neighbors, bus drivers or a regular waitress at a favorite restaurant.

Quality postvention can facilitate survivors’ healing. It helps them understand and address the complex thoughts and emotions that make coping after a suicide loss particularly challenging. USPV offers a safe space where loss survivors can explore painful and challenging emotions. It strives to create a community of shared healing by improving education about postvention and access to support and resources.

VA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention supports USPV. However, most USPV resources support anyone who has been touched by suicide loss regardless of their military, Veteran or military family status.

At the heart of USPV is a website that features multimedia resources designed to promote open dialogue. The site is structured to meet the needs of community members, health care providers and workplace colleagues. It offers videos, infographics and podcasts related to connecting and healing.

How is suicide postvention part of prevention?

Experts consider exposure to suicide a risk factor for suicide. Survivors are at greater risk for substance use disorders and mental health issues than those who haven’t experienced such a loss. This includes including thoughts of suicide. Those exposed to suicide in the workplace are 3.5 times more likely than others to take their own lives. In a military unit with five or more suicide attempts in a year, the risk for another attempt is double that of units that had no attempts.

Grief after loss can be so intense that it prevents survivors from seeking help at a critical crossroad. But by helping survivors heal after a suicide, postvention reduces the risk of additional suicides in the deceased person’s circle. In that way, postvention healing is a vital component of prevention. Postvention is so important that the Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) has established USPV as part of VA’s mission to develop, disseminate and implement a comprehensive prevention program.

To learn more about USPV at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC, visit https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn19/postvention/.

Resources

If you know someone grieving after a suicide loss, you may wish to read about ways you can help and talk to them. To learn about mental health support for Veterans, visit mentalhealth.va.gov.

• If you or someone you know is in crisis, don’t hesitate to get help.
  • Call 9-1-1 immediately.
  • Contact the Veterans Crisis Line, which connects service members and Veterans in crisis, as well as their family members and friends, with qualified, caring VA responders. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, text to 838255, or chat online at net/Chat.
  • Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text TALK to 741741.
• The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) provides free, compassionate care and survivor support services for the families of America’s fallen military heroes. Services include peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, casework assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for all who have been profoundly affected by the death of a military loved one. For more information, visit taps.org or call the toll-free information helpline at 1-800-959-TAPS (8277).
• See related story, Postvention is key to suicide prevention says surviving spouse, advocate

Sarra Nazem holds a doctorate and is a clinical research psychologist at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC. She serves as a consultant for the Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program and delivers evidence-based treatment for Veterans.

Laurel Gaeddert provides administrative support for USPV and has assisted in the development of USPV resources. She earned a bachelor’s in psychology, with a minor in biology and a concentration in cognitive neuroscience, from the University of Denver.

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Unfortunately, rates of suicide among veterans still remain much higher than those of other Americans and VA has found that newly separated service members are particularly at risk for suicide. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) notes the initiatives and efforts it is making to reduce suicides among veterans and service members are gradually working toward the goal of eliminating these preventable tragedies.

Sens. Brown (Ohio) and Whitehouse (R.I.) have introduced S. 132, the Daniel J. Harvey Jr. and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act, to respond to this crisis among our newest generation of veterans. The bill would create a pilot project coordinated by VA and the Department of Defense to educate transitioning service members about challenges and risks of separating from service, including readjusting to their families and communities, and protective behaviors that may assist them in a successful transition. The bill would also provide a warm hand-off to a VA provider to screen individuals for risks, introduce them to appropriate VA services and provide them with contact information if they are likely to be eligible for services.

DAV Resolution No. 059 encourages Congress to support innovation and enhance resources to support effective programming for mental health and suicide prevention.

Please act today to express your support for this important legislation and urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 132 or thank them for their support of this important legislation.

Thank you for your support of our nation’s veterans.

TAKE ACTION

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie released the following statement after President Trump signed the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, into law.

“This legislation moves America closer to a goal that all citizens can support: increasing the local resources available to our men and women who answered the call to defend this Nation. This law will expand mental health care services at VA facilities and at the same time provide grants to make it easier for Veterans to access non-VA resources in their communities.

“Care in the community is a critical component of our effort to end Veteran suicide. About 60 percent of the Veterans who die by suicide aren’t getting care from VA, so it’s vital we do all we can to offer intervention and care to Veterans where they live. This bill takes a strong and meaningful step in that direction.”

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This podcast from Military Times examines the alarming rate of military and Veterans suicide, offering new insights based on research and effective clinical and peer support practices in suicide prevention. Hosted by Duane France, a retired Army combat Veteran, author and mental health counselor, and Shauna Springer, a psychologist, author and nationally recognized expert on initiatives to benefit the military community, the podcast aims to move beyond awareness to identify actionable strategies that can impact the rising suicide rate among service members, Veterans, and their families.

About this week’s guest

Tom Cruz is an active duty master sergeant in the United States Army with over 25 years of service. He has deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Jordan. He has experience with suicide prevention and awareness resulting from an attempt in 2010 to take his life. Since his attempt, he became a huge advocate of more awareness and prevention for Veterans. Tom has taken his skills to social media, where he assisted in pioneering two organizations to identify and assist Veterans with mental health issues, suicidal ideations, relationship issues, financial concerns and other Veteran specific issues. With his own recovery breaking the stigma within the military on career status, family life and security clearance myths, he has pushed to bring holistic means to Veterans to the road of recovery.

Tom has been widely sought by military units, military bases, DoD organizations, national suicide organizations and the White House for his expertise on Veterans issues and social media. He is Master Resilience Trained Level One, an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training Instructor, Question, Persuade, Refer trained, and an Army suicide intervention trainer. He is also the program director for suicide and awareness with Veterans Counseling Veterans, adviser to Animal Rescue & Veteran Support Services, panel member of Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research with University of South Florida, and subject matter expert with White House and Office of the Surgeon General. Tom received the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration 2017 Voice Award Consumer/Peer/Family Leadership Award for his work to ensure America’s military and Veteran communities have access to the mental health and substance use treatment and services they deserve.

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I’d be lying if I said I never wished for death after I was wounded horribly

In an effort to end Veteran suicide, President Trump released his plan that is designed to bring federal agencies together with state and local governments to focus on a problem he notes is costing us “20 service members and Veterans a day.”

I applaud President Trump for this and I would like to add some perspective to this national conversation, as we too often just accept a misunderstanding that makes it difficult to honestly address this problem.

While I was in the Army, suicide was something I never understood or considered. It baffled me; that is, until I lay in a hospital burn unit after I was grievously wounded on the battlefield.

JOSEPH TACHOVSKY: MY FATHER, WORLD WAR II HERO – EULOGY AT HIS FUNERAL INSPIRED ME TO LEARN MORE

I’d be lying if I said I never wished for death then. I was wounded horribly, which suddenly extricated me from the career, role and identity that made me whole.

I’d never imagined how much it would hurt to lose my capacity and identity involuntarily. I loved being a Green Beret and was not prepared to lose that identity.

Next came a long, hard road of surgeries, therapy and learning to walk again. After considering myself a guardian of freedom for so long, it hurt bad to not be able to take care of myself for so long. And I had it easy. So many have paid the ultimate price.

For more than two decades, the military had taught me how to turn the ready switch on, unconditionally. When that ended, I was left trapped with a switch still stuck in the on position. As difficult as this has been for me, I sometimes break out in a cold sweat when I consider how many of our younger Veterans have to make this transition with far less life experience than I had at the time.

Soldiers like to say that after combat any kind of life at home is easy. That’s a lie; in fact, it can be torturous when the problems just keep coming. Family, relationships and financial issues are enough to ruin people who have otherwise easy lives. When this happens to a Veteran battling for a sense of purpose after being damaged in war, they can give in to despair.

Hope comes with a rebuilding of a useful and positive identity. This is hard, as the solution then is dependent on each individual.

I once started to add up the Veterans I knew who committed suicide. I soon had to stop picturing their faces, as there are so many.

Each of these lost Veteran’s individual stories are complicated, but through personal experience and by meeting so many, I’d like to dispel the myth that they are going through something the rest of us can’t understand. Coming to that conclusion actually creates an impasse that can’t be bridged — even by spouses. And it’s dishonest.

Sure, a civilian who has never been to war won’t know the smell, the taste and feel of battle and death in that gruesome manner. That’s true. But everyone suffers. Many people see tragic things they can’t erase from their memories; still, they can’t exactly explain these things so that another person can completely see and feel them, but this doesn’t mean that others can’t relate.

This is critical because I’ve found again and again that what saves lives is developing a new purpose, one built on a refashioned and positive identity. In contrast, playing the victim, which we actually encourage Veterans to do in this society, isn’t good for anyone, least of all the Veterans. Empathy is important, but after a while treating them as if their identity is their wounds is damaging and can actually prevent them from healing psychologically.

Hope comes with a rebuilding of a useful and positive identity. This is hard, as the solution then is dependent on each individual. But we can all help them get there by realizing we can relate to them as human beings. Our government agencies, when they try to help them psychologically, need to help them find a new purpose as fathers and mothers, in a new career and more.

Right now we are losing many of these Veterans as they get stuck between the chapters of their great stories. We need to help them see the great stories they are living, not just a chapter that might have ended tragically.

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With the recent economic downturn, research conducted by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and the Cohen Veterans Network shows Veterans are at a higher risk of depression and substance abuse.

Financial security and job loss point to an increase in mental health disorders, potentially leading to suicide. Cohen Veterans Network CEO Anthony Hassan says as we're starting to see a second wave of coronavirus cases, mental health challenges may also soon take over.

"For every five percent increase in unemployment we could see an additional 550 Veterans deaths by suicide and an additional 20,000 Veterans who might experience substance use disorders," he said.

Hassan said financial stress and job loss can influence the development of mental health and substance abuse disorders.

"Given this reality with the pandemic, social isolation and now high unemployment rate it's not shocking that we're going to be challenged both in the Veteran community and across America," he said.

Now as telehealth is at the forefront of the pandemic, Hassan said it's finding solutions in treating those experiencing mental health issues.

"Our network has 98 percent of our patients are seen via telehealth. So now patients, people, Americans, Veterans have access that they didn't have before," he said. "As a result of social distancing and isolation we also have seen that telehealth has been the best thing that has come out of the pandemic."

But the threat of lawmakers slowing funding for these types of treatments, Hassan is calling for their support now more than ever.

"I really want to urge our leaders across America to resist the tendency to want to reduce behavioral health funding when local, state and federal budgets become tight. Now is not the time to disengage," he said.

Resources for Veterans in crisis or in need of support include:

• Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• Veterans Crisis Texas: text "HELP" to 838255
• More crisis resources can be found - here.
• Mental health support resources can be found - here.
• For peer support call Vets4Warriors at 1-855-838-8255
• National Women Veterans Hotline: (855) 829-6636

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WASHINGTON – Suicide among U.S. troops increased 15% in 2020 from the previous year, a troubling trend that has defied Pentagon initiatives to prevent service members from taking their own lives.

In 2020, 580 troops died by suicide, compared with 504 in 2019, according to figures confirmed Wednesday night for USA TODAY by congressional and Defense Department sources. The sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the figures, which the Pentagon planned to release on Thursday.

In 2018, there were 543 suicide deaths among troops. It's not clear why there was a decrease in 2019 followed by a jump in 2020, according to the Defense Department official.

Most of the troops who have died by suicide are young enlisted men, the congressional aide said. The Army has seen a spike in suicide among its soldiers in Alaska, including six suspected suicides in the first five months of 2021. The Army has spent more than $200 million in recent years to improve the quality of life and prevent suicide on its bases in Alaska.

In last year's report on suicide, the Pentagon noted that military suicide rates are comparable with the U.S. adult population for active-duty troops and lower for the National Guard and Reserve. However, the report noted that rates for active-duty "are not going in the desired direction."

Service members and Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide and those who know a service member or Veteran in crisis can call the Military Crisis Line/Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1; text 838255; or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

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VA's Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program (SRM)

VA’s Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program (SRM) provides one free hour of consultation services for community or VA providers who work with Veterans at risk for suicide.

SRM consultants collaborate with providers and offer tailored, one-on-one support for risk assessment, conceptualization of suicide risk, lethal means safety counseling, strategies for how to engage Veterans at high risk in their own treatment, best practices for documentation, and provider support after a suicide loss (postvention). SRM’s expert consultation and resources promote best practices informed by research conducted in VA and in the community.

SRM experts only consult with PROVIDERS on suicide risk management and does not provide any direct care or support to Veterans. If you are a Veteran in crisis — or you’re concerned about one — free, confidential support is available 24/7. Call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, send a text message to 838255, or chat online. Find Veteran Suicide Prevention information and resources on the Veterans Crisis Line website.

Requesting a consultation

Community leaders and other organizations working with Veterans may also request suicide prevention resources, information and education (e.g. presentations). Learning how to identify someone at risk of suicide and ways to offer support are popular examples.

Once a provider submits an email request for consultation, an SRM staff member schedules a time to speak with them. Staff can also answer a question via email if preferred.

In the SRM staff’s reply to the provider is an included triage form for the provider/applicant to complete and return. Providers complete and submit the triage form prior to the scheduled consultation. All information discussed during the consultation process is confidential.

To request a consult, or to learn more, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.mirecc.va.gov/visn19/consult.

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Why "thwarted belongingness" can be so toxic for male Veterans.

KEY POINTS

• Joiner’s interpersonal theory of suicide postulates that suicide occurs because of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.
• Male Veterans in their late 60s and 70s experience disproportionately high levels of emotional disconnection and thwarted belonginess.
• These suicide risk factors begin in early childhood socialization around trust, vulnerability, and emotional closeness.
• The antidote to thwarted belongingness is courageous vulnerability and new, validating relationships.

When I was 20 years old, I stared into the eyes of an Al-Qaeda terrorist as he sprayed automatic gunfire on my position at the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 6, 2004.

The terrorists murdered five of our State Department colleagues before the siege came to an end that day.

For nearly two decades, I held onto deep guilt for not having saved everyone that day and an underlying, insidious distrust of other humans. Receiving great care from the VA and eventually becoming a psychologist myself renewed my faith and trust in people.

Many combat Veterans struggle with this familiar symptom of post-traumatic stress. Distrust rips at the fabric of what makes our armed forces formidable: our bond with each other. It becomes especially problematic when we come home and take the uniform off.

It's then that we find ourselves without bonds and without a mission that our risk for suicide increases significantly.

The heart of suicide isn't experiencing combat itself. It is both the disconnection that follows and the core beliefs we have around vulnerability that predate our service.

Thomas Joiner’s interpersonal theory of suicide is a core component of the military psychology community's approach to suicide prevention. The theory postulates that suicide occurs because of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.

Thwarted belonginess is maintained by a core belief: "I am alone," which can lead to hopelessness about the possibility of real human connection.

Male Veterans in their late 60s and 70s experience disproportionately high levels of emotional disconnection and thwarted belongingness. They have the highest suicide rates and are often unmarried, living alone, with few ties to their communities (Anestis et al, 2015).

These suicide risk factors don't start in the military. For many men, they begin in early childhood socialization around trust, vulnerability, and emotional closeness.

The antidote to thwarted belongingness is courageous vulnerability and new, validating relationships.

Our life trajectories are not pre-determined. While post-traumatic stress can often be chronic, a sacrifice of our peace of mind for the common good, we combat Veterans must be courageous enough to people our lives again. It takes courage and a leap of faith to begin introducing yourself to new people, or reintroducing yourself to others. In doing so we may find that a fierce, healthy love between friends and neighbors becomes a practical protective factor and path toward reducing the Veteran suicide rate. That, and making sure that when a Veteran is ready to reach out, they can reach out to their local Vet Center. There are over 300 Vet Centers nationwide. They are part of the VA and provide free, lifetime services to eligible Veterans and their families. The program was created by Vietnam Veterans and is a trusted resource for many. You can meet providers who are Veterans themselves, professionals who have done the work and can help you cross that bridge too.

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The value of human life cannot be determined in dollars and cents, yet saving one often comes with a heavy price tag. After much too long a period of time and tens of thousands of deaths later, the Veterans Administration has admitted how they are powerless to stop the disproportionate number of American military Veteran suicides being committed every single day of every single month of every single year. The V.A. needs your help and they’re willing to pay big money for it.

Officials from the Veterans Administration have announced that they’re willing to pay $3 million to anyone from anywhere who can help them solve the Veteran suicide problem that they’ve thus far been unsuccessful in doing.

By way of a mountainous number of various funded programs, the VA said the long-standing number of 22 Veteran suicides per day has been reduced to 17, but that this is a far cry from being a success story. However, non-profit Veterans organizations devoted to this cause, largely run by Veterans for Veterans, disagree with the reduction in numbers. They live it every day.

The total cost of the VA’s new suicide prevention program called Mission Daybreak is a cool $20 mil. The concept is to create new ideas by challenging the public to get involved. Over a six-week period, the V.A. hopes to review thousands of ideas, and in the coming months the top 40 entries selected will be awarded prize money.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said, “To end Veteran suicide, we need to use every tool available. Mission Daybreak is fostering solutions across a broad spectrum of focus areas to combat this preventable problem.”

Also in the coming months, the VA plans on forking over another $52 million to local communities with suicide prevention programs. The goal is in identifying Veterans in crisis mode prior to planning their funeral, and in the case of Veterans, especially combat Vets, special training and tools are required.

National director of VA suicide prevention, Dr. Matt Miller, said the new approach is similar in parameters to previous programs except that it’s more focused on immediate results rather than long-term goals.

“A key to innovation is rapid implementation and development,” he said. “So what we’re really trying to foster and harness is those ideas that can be rapidly developed, be scalable across our system, and make a big difference quickly.”

Suggestions can’t be scribbled on a bar napkin. Individuals or teams must submit their proposed solutions in the form of a 10-page concept paper. The paper must contain a plan of implementation, evidence of the submitted framework, and the impact the plan would have on each various era group within the Veteran community.

The best 30 ideas accepted will receive a special kicker by being invited to help the VA refine their ideas into workable solutions. The top two winners will each receive a full $3 million. The remainder of the top 30 will each receive $250,000 and the final ten will receive $100,000.

This program is long overdue and any step the VA takes toward Veteran suicide prevention is a step in the right direction. So get busy America. Regardless of the prize money, it’s time for paying back a debt that has no monetary value.

Veterans crisis line: 1-800-273-8255 Press 1.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing spending $682 million more next fiscal year on mental health issues, and ramping up funding for suicide prevention efforts by one-third, as it faces Congressional scrutiny over a series of tragic incidents on VA premises over the past year.

The VA's budget request for fiscal 2021, released Monday, totals $243.3 billion -- a dramatic 10% increase from 2020. In addition to resourcing mental health and suicide prevention, it would nearly double the amount of funding for a joint VA-Defense Department effort to create a merged electronic health records system and provide a 9% increase to the budget for women's health care.

A series of highly public Veteran suicides in VA parking lots over the last five years has left the VA scrambling for better prevention measures. In a recent report on one such death in 2018, the Inspector General found institutional failures led to mental health clinicians not being alerted to the patient's condition before his death.

The proposed budget would provide $76 million over fiscal 2020 levels for the VA's suicide prevention programs like the Veteran Crisis Line, a suicide prevention hotline.

It also gives $53.4 million to the president's interagency task force on Veteran suicide prevention. The President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide, or "Prevents," was created last year to address the Veteran suicide rate, which averages 20 deaths each day.

"The Prevents Task Force will increase the government's return on investment by leveraging partnerships with private and community organizations to amplify messages and activities," VA officials wrote in a budget overview brief. "Prevents will further expand its reach through planning and implementation grants executed by other participant federal agencies."

Some $50 million of the proposed funding would go toward implementing the task force's findings, which are expected by March 5, while about $3 million would go towards its administrative functions, a senior VA official said.

However, some Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the request, saying the VA is outsourcing critical care capabilities.

"Despite significant investments in mental health care for Veterans -- a top priority for the President, this Committee and VA -- these funds direct resources outside VA into grant programs and the Prevents Task Force instead of being used to explicitly support Veterans in crisis at VA," Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, said in a statement Monday.

The House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman also raised issues with the president's other proposals to cut funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and eliminating new Housing and Urban Development vouchers for homeless Veterans.

"When you consider the Trump budget in its totality, it is a cruel document that cuts housing, food security, and key assistance that millions of Veterans depend on," Takano said.

Another point of contention with Congress is the electronic health records system (EHR). Designed to combine a variety of health records programs across the VA while also giving the Pentagon a way to transfer in its health records, the roll out has been delayed several times.

The VA's proposed budget would give the EHR effort $2.6 billion - nearly doubling the amount from FY 2020.

A senior VA official said this $1.2 billion increase is "basically a transition budget" as the VA plans to expand the system in about 15 sites in 2021.

These increased funds would go towards building the IT infrastructure needed at some facilities and managing its rollout, among other things like maintenance, testing, deployment and operation, the budget brief said.

VA Officials are also requesting an additional $53 million to spend on women's health care, making the total gender-specific health care budget $626 million.

With the population of female Veterans increasing by about 120,000 from 2014 to 2019, women are considered the VA's fastest-growing cohort. That means the VA needs to expand some women-specific services to meet growing demand, such as access to gynecologists. The 9% increase would let the VA provide more of those primary care services for women.

Details were thin on where the added funding would be spent, prompting criticism from one prominent Veterans' group.

"We applaud this administration's focus on Veterans and addressing the community's unique needs," Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a news release. "However, much is still unclear on how and where these funds would be allocated."

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America’s longest war is nearing a close. But service members returning home from Afghanistan are not entirely safe. Upon release from service, they will enter an on-going public health crisis. And it’s not COVID-19.

Veterans are taking their own lives at the staggering rate of 20 per day. This represents a 25 percent increase from 2005. Even more shocking, in that same time frame, suicides among young combat Veterans have increased almost 80 percent.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is uniquely positioned to help. Studies indicate Veteran-specific reintegration and mental health treatment programs prove more effective than private care. But while VA’s services save lives, many Veterans can’t get past the front desk in order to access them. While suicides soar, the VA is turning eligible Veterans away from care.

What is happening? According to a new report from the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, the VA is systematically turning away Veterans eligible for care across the country. Eligibility rules can be complex, and service does not always confer Veteran status in the eyes of the VA. However, by law, all Veterans have the right to apply for VA care and receive an individualized eligibility review with a written decision. In practice, many Veterans — even combat Veterans or those who endured military sexual trauma — are turned away at the front desk. And turn-aways disproportionately impact some of the most vulnerable Veterans: post-9/11 Veterans with “other than honorable” (OTH) discharges.

Upon discharge, the military gives Veterans one of six characterizations ranging from honorable to dishonorable. OTH characterizations are given with little to no due process, often for minor infractions. As the Department of Defense has acknowledged, misconduct in OTH cases is often symptomatic of service-related mental health illnesses such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or depression caused by a deployment or a military sexual trauma.

One such Veteran is William Daigle. Mr. Daigle was sexually assaulted multiple times by a superior during service. When Mr. Daigle desperately tried to transfer away from his assailant, his commander never responded. Eventually, Mr. Daigle fled on his own, going AWOL. The Army gave him an OTH discharge.

Struggling from what doctors later diagnosed as PTSD related to the assaults, Mr. Daigle entered the civilian world saddled with the stigmatizing OTH discharge. In 2017, when he tried to get mental health treatment from the VA, he was first put through a “characterization of service” process to determine whether his service was “honorable” enough for the VA to consider him a Veteran. The VA quickly determined he was eligible. However, it failed to ever notify him of the decision. For almost three years, Mr. Daigle went without treatment, believing he was ineligible.

And that’s when Chelsea Donaldson came in. Ms. Donaldson is an attorney at Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. CVLC is a non-profit organization providing free legal representation to Veterans recovering from homelessness and mental illness. In late 2019, Ms. Donaldson obtained access to Mr. Daigle’s VA files, and found the VA’s 2017 decision declaring him eligible for health care.

Mr. Daigle was elated. The VA had recognized him as a Veteran. He could receive treatment for his service-related PTSD.

In January 2020, decision in hand, Mr. Daigle went to his local VA health care facility. And the front desk turned him away, again.

Hearing this, Chelsea Donaldson, went to the VA hospital with Mr. Daigle to take up his case. But she was met with stiff resistance. VA staff argued that she did not understand the wording of Daigle’s decision letter and incorrectly told her that she had to apply to the Department of Defense to get this discharge upgraded (a laborious process that can take years to complete). It took days — and Ms. Donaldson’s efforts appealing up the ranks — for the VA to recognize its own decision letter.

Sadly, Mr. Daigle’s turn away is not unique. According the Harvard study, the VA subjects thousands of Veterans across the country to this shameful, illegal treatment.

A system that requires an injured Veteran to get the help of an attorney simply to access health care is not just shameful, it can be deadly. Veterans with OTHs are three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts as other Veterans. But this increase disappears when OTH Veterans receive mental healthcare from VA. As the Harvard report documents, for many Veterans like Mr. Daigle, allowing access does not require a legislative change; the VA simply needs to update its training and procedures to comply with the law.

America does not need a new vaccine for the Veteran suicide crisis. Rather, the VA needs to train its staff to fully implement and abide by the law. Front desk staff need to know that they cannot unilaterally deny care, and instead, should welcome all Veterans to apply. As our longest war winds down, we must keep our promise, and ensure all Veterans have the opportunity to access the health care.

Service is sacrifice. A sacrifice that less than 1 percent of Americans have been willing to make in the post-9/11 era. Access to life-saving VA health care is small recompense compared with the risks Veterans assume. It is our duty to make sure that health care is given. No one who made the sacrifice to serve should be turned away without due process.

Margaret Kuzma is the director of discharge upgrade practice at Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. She has taught as a visiting clinical lecturer at Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic, and helped found the Veterans Law Project at Quinnipiac University School of Law. Most recently, Margaret co-authored the “Discharge Upgrade Legal Practice Manual,” a legal treatise on upgrading military discharges with the Veterans Legal Clinic at Harvard Law School. Prior to becoming a public interest attorney, Margaret worked as the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator for Fort Benning and USAG Baumholder.

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WASHINGTON — The mother of a Navy Veteran who killed himself in the parking lot of a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week, accusing the VA of negligence in her son’s death.

Machelle Wilson of Forysth, Ga., is seeking $8.25 million from the VA. Her claim states that a VA doctor abruptly discontinued her son’s opioid prescription, which he used to manage chronic hip and back pain. The lack of medication caused him to suffer pain and withdrawal symptoms and pushed him into crisis, the claim says.

Gary Pressley, 28, a former aviation ordnanceman in the Navy, shot himself in the chest April 5 in the parking lot of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Ga. He had just left the hospital’s pharmacy, where he tried in vain to have his pain medication refilled.

“Nobody listened to him,” Wilson said. “The signs were all there.”

Before shooting himself, Pressley wrote a note and placed it on the dashboard of his car. In part, it read, “This is what happens by punishing already suffering people.”

‘He was strong’

Last year, Pressley’s suicide was one of three during a five-day period on VA property. The deaths prompted scrutiny from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers held a hearing and news conference to draw attention to the issue.

At the time, it was unclear why the Veterans had killed themselves and what had prompted them to do it on VA property. In a quest to find answers, House lawmakers passed legislation that would require the VA to notify Congress of suicides at VA campuses and provide information about the Veterans, including an explanation of their most recent encounters with VA employees. The bill has not yet been approved by the Senate.

In her son’s case, Wilson wants people to know how he had suffered and what drove him to shoot himself.

“I definitely need his story to be told, because this was uncalled for,” she said. “He didn’t need to take his life if he would’ve gotten the help he needed.”

Wilson described her son as a positive person, an “all-American boy” and always the comedian in a group of people.

He served in the Navy from 2008 to 2012, and he excelled there.

He was an aviation ordinanceman, responsible for handling and servicing weapons and ammunition carried on Navy aircraft. He deployed in 2010 to Haiti to help with disaster relief following the catastrophic earthquake. One of his final evaluations in 2012 described him as “dedicated and hardworking,” “meticulous,” “focused and productive” and “a total team player who produces quality results with little to no supervision.” He was said to possess “unlimited potential” and was recommended for retention and promotion.

A car wreck in 2012 ended his military service and left him with chronic pain. He had planned on a long military career, but after the wreck he developed a new plan for his life, Wilson said.

At the time of his death, Pressley had just bought his first home. He was taking business classes and working at an auto parts store. He dreamed of a family, and of opening his own auto shop with his stepfather.

“He was a stand-up guy,” Wilson said. “He fought hard to have the life he wanted, even after the accident. He was strong.”

Private doctor unpaid

Pressley returned to Georgia after leaving the military. As a result of his injury, he was treated at Carl Vinson VA Medical Center. Opioids were part of his pain management routine.

Pressley was under VA care from 2013 to 2018, when his VA doctor referred him to a private medical provider. He developed a good relationship with his private doctor, but in February 2019 she stopped treating Veterans. The agency owed her thousands of dollars in reimbursement for treating VA patients, the claim states.

Wilson blames the VA’s lack of payment for her son’s eventual suicide. The wrongful death claim states that Pressley’s suicide could have been prevented “if the VA would have honored its financial obligation” and reimbursed his doctor.

“The VA needs to make some changes,” Wilson said. “If they could’ve paid their bills, he would’ve still been going there.”

Pressley received treatment from a private doctor through the Veterans Choice Program, which was established by Congress in 2014 following the VA wait-time scandal.

Soon after the Choice program launched, private medical doctors criticized the VA for being slow to reimburse them for treating Veterans. As early as 2015, some private providers started to turn away VA patients because of the lack of payment.

The Choice program ended last year with the launch of the VA Mission Act, which aims to create new networks of private care for Veterans. But even under the new program, concerns persist.

During a Senate hearing earlier this month, multiple senators questioned the VA’s ability to reimburse the private providers who care for Veterans under the Mission Act. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said two large health care providers in his state are collectively waiting on more than $5 million in reimbursements from the VA.

The agency is working through 2.5 million backlogged claims from private providers, said Kameron Matthews, the VA’s assistant undersecretary for health for community care. The total inventory of claims stands at 3.4 million. The VA hopes to eliminate the backlog by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, she said.

In Pressley’s case, he immediately notified the VA in February 2019 that his doctor was no longer accepting him as a patient. He requested a pain consultation, which was never scheduled, the claim states.

By March 2019, Pressley was out of pain medication, and he contacted the VA again. The hospital told him he couldn’t get a prescription until he was seen by a doctor.

On April 5, the day of his death, Pressley made five calls and one visit to the VA. He spoke to four people about his need for medication.

“While waiting, Gary lost all hope,” the claim reads.

The lawsuit alleges that Pressley’s VA doctor should have known better. Wilson and her attorney, Peter Bertling, brought attention to an article written by VA Secretary Robert Wilkie six months before Pressley’s suicide. In it, Wilkie warned that any reduction in a patient’s use of opioids should be done carefully.

“Otherwise, patients could be driven to crisis by both the effects of withdrawal and ineffective pain management,” Wilkie wrote.

‘Devastated’

Included in Wilson’s wrongful death claim is a photo of Pressley as he was found that day: sunglasses on, the left side of his short-sleeved polo drenched in blood, slumped against the door, with his right arm draped over the center console. The death certificate, also included with the lawsuit, said Pressley died of cardiopulmonary arrest, the sudden loss of heart function.

Pressley’s sister, Lisa Johnson, tried to warn VA police. Pressley had contacted his family to let them know he was in crisis. The hospital in Dublin, Ga., was two hours away from their home in Forsyth, so Johnson called the VA hospital, the claim states.

The lawsuit alleges that hospital staff were not properly trained about how to respond to calls like Johnson’s.

“Lisa told the operator exactly where he was located based on his GPS signal,” the claim reads. “No one from the VA attempted to locate or assist Gary, who was on the brink of death.”

VA police found Pressley in his car just after 5 p.m.

In the 10 months since his death, Wilson has suffered anxiety and depression, she said. She also quit her job of 15 years because of the grief.

“I’m unable to get out of bed most days,” Wilson said. “I’m taking medication, going to therapy. I no longer have a job. I tried to go back to work, but I couldn’t do it. It’s devastated us emotionally and financially.”

No comment

In response to questions about Wilson’s lawsuit, VA Press Secretary Christina Mandreucci said Friday that the VA does not comment on pending litigation.

She said suicide prevention remains the agency’s top clinical priority and pointed to efforts the VA has undertaken to reduce Veteran suicide, including the PREVENTS initiative. President Donald Trump created the initiative with an executive order last year. Its task force includes the secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, and its purpose is to “mobilize every level of American society” to address the Veteran suicide crisis, Trump promised.

The VA’s budget request for fiscal 2021, released earlier this month, gives $53.4 million to the task force. More details about the task force’s plan are expected to be announced next month.

The last annual report from the VA showed that suicide among Veterans continues to be higher than the rest of the population. The suicide rate among male Veterans was 1.3 times the rate for other adult men in 2017, the latest year data was available. For women, the contrast is even more stark. The rate among female Veterans was 2.2 times the rate for other adult women that year.

The highest suicide rate was among younger Veterans, ages 18 to 34. In 2017, there were 44.5 suicides for every 100,000 Veterans in that age group.

Last year, just one week after Pressley’s suicide, senators heard from Richard Stone, executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration. Some senators questioned him about Pressley’s death, as well as the two others that had occurred that week on VA property.

Stone said suicides on VA property accounted for less than 1% of Veteran suicides overall and urged lawmakers to look at the broader picture.

“The fact that help was a few feet away is deeply troubling,” Stone said at the time. “But yet, even if we fix that problem, 99.6% of Veteran suicides are not occurring on our campuses. There are those who would like to indict the VA. I would caution you, this is not as easy as having just a few more policemen to go through parking lots. This is about a whole-of-society approach.”

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it recently awarded $1.3 million in grants to 11 regional homelessness nonprofit organizations to bolster suicide prevention services for Veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

VA’s combined public health approach to preventing suicide and addressing homelessness aims to improve the identification of Veterans in need within the community, increase Veteran and community awareness of suicide risk and protective factors, and increase Veterans’ connectedness to community and care resources.

“Our data shows Veterans are at particular risk for suicide within 30 days of an eviction or the onset of homelessness, especially when it is paired with other risk factors, such as financial instability and difficulty meeting basic needs,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “In response, VA is working hard during this challenging time to ensure Veterans who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness have the support they need.”

The funds awarded will be managed and disbursed by VA’s Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program (SSVF) which offers an array of services to secure housing for Veterans facing homelessness. Additionally, SSVF will provide supportive services, including rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention support to Veterans identified as being at elevated risk of suicide — as well as Veterans facing extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased unemployment and unstable finances.

Grantees operate in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. They were selected from a group of the highest-ranked applicants for the SSVF program in fiscal year 2020.

View the full list of the grantees and learn more how VA is working to protect Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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VA professionals help blind Vet learn to live and work independently

Standing in front of a long stainless-steel table in the inpatient kitchen at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Army Veteran Arthur Saenz prepared salads for the lunch rush, topping each bowl with cherry tomatoes.

You wouldn’t know from watching him work, but 25-year-old Saenz is blind.

“It basically took an army to get me to where I’m at now,” he said.

Saenz joined the military shortly after high school. While still at basic training, he noticed something going “wonky” with his sight.

“I just assumed I was tired because, you know, they like to tire you out in basic,” he said. “But the next day, I woke up with the sight I have today.”

Saenz received an irregular discharge and went back home to Iowa where he and his wife lived for several dark and confusing years.

“I was alone and felt like no one was there for me. I was consistently told I wasn’t good enough or that I couldn’t support my wife because I was blind. That was very difficult. Very difficult.”

The meeting that changed everything

A chance meeting in a parking lot changed that.

“We ran into someone from DAV (Disabled American Veterans). And they were like, ‘It can’t hurt. Let’s put in a claim for you and let’s get it figured out.’”

With the help of DAV and the local VA, Saenz received a service-connection for his disability. More important, he gained access to VA professionals who could help him learn to live without sight.

During a three-month intensive living and mobility course at the Hines VA Medical Center in Chicago, Saenz learned basic skills, such as using a knife, cooking, reading Braille and using adaptive technology to navigate the world. He also learned how to hike unassisted. He was able put those skills to good use when he and his wife moved to the mountain town of American Fork, Utah.

At nearby VA Salt Lake City, Saenz met recreation therapist Heather Brown, who introduced him to low vision clinic instructors Thomas Wolf and Darren Lindsay.

“His skills were really good when he came to us,” Wolf said. “He just needed to get familiar with his new neighborhood.”

Still, something was missing for Saenz: a job. Vocational rehabilitation counselor Mari Hanson connected him with the position he has today with the hospital food service.

“You know there is hope”

Saenz plans to attend culinary school and eventually open his own restaurant.

He’s eager to give credit to everyone who helped him get where he is today. And he has a message for visually impaired people who are struggling to find their place in the world.

“Please don’t give up, because you know there is hope. Get help, find someone that’s willing to take the time and help you get through these obstacles.”

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released today the 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which found no significant increases in the Veteran suicide rate from 2017-2018, average suicide deaths per day or total count of Veteran suicides — however, there were positive trends related to VA health care and suicide prevention efforts overall.

The report includes analyses of Veteran suicide from 2005-2018 and findings from ongoing monitoring of VA health system suicide-related indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The suicide data presented in this new report is an integral part of VA’s Public Health Model for Suicide Prevention, which combines evidence-based clinical interventions and proactive community-based prevention strategies to address suicide in our nation,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “The data shows the rate of suicide among Veterans who recently used VA health services has decreased, an encouraging sign as the department continues its work and shares what we learn with those who care for and about Veterans.”

VA’s Public Health Model for Suicide Prevention looks at evidence-based clinical interventions, such as cognitive behavior and problem-solving therapies that are paired with community-based prevention efforts to help Veterans who may be at risk for suicide. These efforts include the Veteran-to-Veteran Together With Veterans and state-driven suicide prevention Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenge programs.

Key report findings include:

• The average number of Veteran suicides per day was 17.6 in 2018.
• The rate of suicide among Veterans who received recent VA care decreased by 2.4%
• No VA analyses to date indicate COVID-19 pandemic-era increases in VA health system-reported Veteran suicides, attempts or volume of emergency department visits related to suicide attempts.

Suicide data and monitoring presented in this report are critical elements of VA’s ongoing implementation of the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide. See the full report and accompanying state data sheets.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive free, confidential support and crisis intervention available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, text 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

Reporters covering this issue can download VA’s Safe Messaging Best Practices fact sheet or visit http://www.ReportingOnSuicide.org for important guidance on how to communicate about suicide.

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VA Secretary Robert Wilkie this week encouraged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass bipartisan legislation to help VA build partnerships with community groups who can offer direct help to Veterans who are at risk of harming themselves.

The IMPROVE Well-Being for Veterans Act, from Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) would allow VA to direct grant funding to these groups across the country.

These community-based groups would be able to use that funding to identify Veterans who pose a suicide risk.

“H.R. 3495 is one-way Members of Congress from both parties can support Veterans and their local communities, and I believe it can be the beginning this year of a longer-term collaboration with the VA to get at the root causes of the suicide crisis in the nation,” Wilkie wrote to Pelosi in a letter last week. “I hope your caucus can support this bipartisan effort.”

VA has had success partnering with community groups to prevent Veteran homelessness — and those efforts have been highly successful — three states and 77 communities have effectively ended this problem. VA is optimistic that strengthening these partnerships through new grant funding would lead to similar success in preventing Veteran suicide.

Secretary Wilkie also extended an invitation to meet with Speaker Pelosi about the bill.

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As part of its ongoing effort to prevent Veteran suicide, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today a new partnership with non-profit organization America Salutes You, to raise awareness of mental health resources for service members, Veterans and their loved ones.

The partnership will promote VA’s Be There campaign and share suicide prevention resources through videos, public service announcements and broadcast events streaming online and airing on television networks across the country.

“Educating the public about suicide prevention resources is key to curbing Veteran suicide,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “VA’s partnership with America Salutes You shows a solid combined effort towards improving Veterans’ overall health and well-being.”

Through this partnership, America Salutes You will host concerts and events to educate Veterans and their loved ones about suicide prevention with an emphasize on access to VA care. As part of VA’s National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, these events use a public health approach to reach Veterans in their communities and aim to raise awareness about mental health, social determinates of suicide and suicide prevention resources through social media and streaming services.

Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a Veteran in crisis, can call VCL for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

Media covering this issue can download VA’s Safe Messaging Best Practices fact sheet or visit www.ReportingOnSuicide.org for important guidance on how to communicate about suicide.

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His calling in life: showing people there is another way

hese days, Jeff Henson is doing what he believes has been his calling in life. He’s showing people who have attempted or have had thoughts of suicide that there is another way.

The Air Force Veteran (pictured above) is a volunteer at Save A Warrior. The nonprofit provides counseling in mental health, wellness and suicide prevention to Veterans, active-duty military and first responders. More than 1,100 men and women have gone through the program since it began eight years ago.

Many of these people, Henson explains, are missing “their family, their tribe” with whom they once built a friendship and camaraderie in the military or elsewhere. A lot of them not only have PTSD, he says, but PTSD and moral injury, which is essentially a conflict with one’s personal code of morality.

A Veteran may feel guilt, shame or self-condemnation for violating his or her moral beliefs in combat by killing someone, witnessing death or failing to prevent the immoral acts of others.

The will to live

Henson believes moral injury is a form of “complex PTSD” that can also stem from negative circumstances in one’s childhood.

“We introduce a Veteran to a tribe of 12 other Veterans who came to Save A Warrior at the same time as total strangers. They can leave as ‘brothers’ with an understanding that it’s not always what happened down-range that has them stuck in life. We provide hope and magic that is the will to live.”

Henson has been there himself. Diagnosed with PTSD and void of hope, he went through the Save A Warrior program in 2016 while in Veterans’ treatment court in Orange County, California.

Flashbacks from the Gulf War

His court time stemmed from a domestic violence incident in 2013. At the time, he was experiencing many of the classic PTSD symptoms: nightmares, mood swings, anxiety, depression, isolation and flashbacks. When the incident happened, he had flashed back to a moment when he unintentionally witnessed a decapitation in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, during the Gulf War in 1990, and he lost control.

Study links PTSD with criminal justice involvement

Earlier this year, a VA study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found that Veterans with PTSD — compared to those without — are six times more likely to experience run-ins with the law.

The researchers say it is unclear what is driving the ties between PTSD and criminal justice involvement. They say the general strain theory may partially explain the results. That theory asserts that the risk of criminal behavior is higher among people who have experienced traumatic events and report negative effects, such as high levels of anger or irritability,

It gave me hope

Meanwhile, as part of getting his life back together, the 59-year-old Henson is pursuing a doctorate in psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

He’s also trying to give back to the organization that gave him so much.

“Save A Warrior did not save my life, but it gave me hope,” he says. “It’s the difference between `being alive’ and `living.’ It’s also about being of service. I’m one of the shepherds who helps people through the process that I went through.

“When we’re kids, we’re told by our parents not to use four-letter words,” he adds. “I dispute that because hope is a four-letter word. And hope is powerful.”

Click here to read more of Henson’s story.

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Law enforcement officials are investigating why a man shot himself in front of the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee on Thursday.

The shooting took place at the south entrance at approximately 2 p.m. The name and condition of the victim has not been released.

“A Veteran did attempt to take his life this afternoon at the VA Medical Center in Muskogee,” said Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Communications Director Nita McClellan in a statement. “We were able to stabilize the Veteran and transfer him to a hospital in Tulsa. Because of privacy laws, we will not discuss the specifics of this case.”

The statement went on to say,” It is our sincere desire to provide the best care possible to every Veteran. The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System remains deeply committed to addressing the needs of Veterans at risk and in distress.”

The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System asks that any Veteran, family member, or friend concerned about a Veteran’s mental health is urged to immediately contact the Veterans Crisis Line (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) at (800) 273-8255 and press 1, or text 838255. Trained professionals are also available to chat at www.Veteranscrisisline.net.

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For U.S. Army Veteran Tom Voss, it was the unseen wounds of war that gushed from his body and crippled his insides day in and day out.

While more than 6,000 miles from the battlefields of Iraq and back in the beloved land he served, Voss no longer felt at home in his skin. The wincing memories of doing or witnessing horrific things that collided with his fundamental beliefs – the “moral injury” – walked like a shadow alongside him and inside him, propelling him toward suicide as a means to end the pain and suffering.

“You are trained in the infantry to move through challenges without asking for help. When I got out of the military, that is what I tried to do,” Tom Voss, co-author of “Where War Ends: A Combat Veteran’s 2,700-Mile Journey to Heal,” told Fox News. “But that caught up with me down the road.”

The issue of Veteran suicides has long plagued the nation and been a bipartisan cause for concern among the political establishment.

But why is it that the numbers remain so alarmingly high?

“You have to approach this very much like one of the really top health issues, like cancer,” said Dr. David Shulkin, former Secretary for Veterans Affairs (VA) and author of the new book “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve Your Country.” “This is going to be a long-term journey and try to address the issues surrounding brain health.”

According to the 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, 45,390 American adults died from suicide in 2017 – the most recent available year of data collection – including 6,139 U.S. Veterans. The report stated that the number of Veteran suicides has exceeded 6,000 every single year between 2008 and 2017, and in 2017, the suicide rate for Veterans was 1.5 times the rate for non-Veteran adults.

In 2005, an average of 86.6 American adults, including Veterans, died by suicide daily. In comparison, an average of 124.4 Americans died by suicide daily in 2017, indicating a sharp rise across the country.

Specific to Veterans, the study found that suicides increased from 5,787 to 6,139 over those 12 years. In 2005, an average of 15.9 Veterans died by suicide daily, and in 2017, an average of 16.8 Veterans died by suicide each day.

The report also underscored that for each year, from 2005 to 2017, Veterans with recent Veterans Health Administration (VHA) use had higher suicide rates than other Veterans. Of those VHA users, 58.7 percent had a diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder. Suicide rates were also highest among those diagnosed with opioid abuse disorder or bipolar.

In terms of age groups, Veterans between 18 and 34 were deemed to have the highest suicide rate in 2017, at 44.5 per 100,000. This marked an uptick by 76 percent from 2005 to 2017.

Nonetheless, the “absolute number” of suicides was highest among the Veterans in the 55-74 age category, amassing 38 percent of total suicide deaths. Analysts surmise this is because there are simply more Veterans accumulating as time goes on, and also because the older one gets, generally the more isolated and lonely they become.

The Veteran suicide rate for women Veterans was concluded to be 2.2 times higher than non-Veteran women. However, the suicide numbers were 1.3 more for male Veterans than non-male Veterans. Moreover, there were 919 suicides among “never federally activated former National Guard and Reserve members in 2017,” averaging 2.5 suicides a day.

So what is the path forward to addressing the stagnant crisis?

“We know that the suicide rate is climbing across the United States for all Americans and in all states. But Veterans are also unique: the suicide rate in the military doubled in the first decade of 2000 and had remained elevated ever since,” said Rajeev Ramchand, a behavioral scientist and fellow at the Veteran support-focused Bob Woodruff Foundation. “And the youngest group of Veterans, those 18-34, have the highest suicide rate. This suggests to me that there is also something specific about the recent military experience that is contributing to suicide risk.”

In Voss’ case, he sought to confront his demons by embarking on a 2,700-mile expedition across the U.S., grasping for solace along the way.

“We have to look at the whole life cycle of a military person, how we are teaching them to manage stress when they come in (to the military) as there are a lot of people already coming in with trauma. Giving them the tools to manage stress only strengthens our military in deployment and when they come home,” he said. “Things like meditation, yoga – these things were created thousands of years ago to manage the mind.”

Shulkin concurred that Veteran suicide needs to be fought in a “multifaceted way,” incorporating integrative processes like yoga and tai chi, emotional support dogs, equine therapies, and cannabis for specific situations.

Firearms were also singled out by researchers for having been used in 70.7 percent of male Veteran suicide deaths, and some 43.2 percent of female Veteran suicides in 2017 – averaging out at 69.4 percent – as the means of self-inflicted injury. By comparison, firearms were used 48.1 percent of non-Veteran suicides in 2017.

“The biggest oversight is the clear relationship between firearm availability and suicide. Locking up one’s firearms using safes or other locking devices has been shown to reduce suicides by almost half,” Craig Bryan, who studies the issue at the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah, said. “Probably the best evidence to support this comes from the Israeli military. When they changed their policies requiring soldiers to store their military firearms in the armory on weekends, they observed a 70 percent reduction in firearm suicides and a 40 percent reduction in the overall military suicide rate.”

In his words, it’s a simple change — “storing guns safely led to an enormous drop in suicides.”

In 2015, both chambers of Congress unanimously passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, named in honor of a former Marine sniper who took his own life in 2011 after failing to receive the needed VA health care. The bill was designed to improve mental health and suicide prevention services at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) pinpointed bureaucratic confusion and unfilled work positions as key contributors hampering VA anti-suicide efforts, described as a “deeply troubling level of incompetence” by Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) who requested the investigation. The VA announced it would immediately address the red flags.

Yet it has been argued that, despite years of congressional funding and an uptick of studies, it has been challenging to zero-in on the specified causes that lead to suicide or suicide attempts. Bryan hopes that the murkiness is now starting to shift in favor of a clearer picture.

“On the health care side, we need to increase access to the most effective treatments,” Bryan noted. “Unfortunately, we tend to focus on access to care without focusing on the quality of care.”

Thus as suicides continued to rise, last year, the Trump administration opted for a more aggressive approach.

In May 2019, President Trump signed an executive order called the PREVENTS Initiative, aimed at arming state and local governments with the tools and resources needed to identify and intercede when a U.S. Veteran is considered to be at risk of suicide. PREVENTS also seeks to raise public awareness of Veteran’s struggles and allocate more money specific to mental health programs.

A presidential task force, which has subsequently been formed to illuminate ways to make data collection faster and coordinate federal and state resources, has also vowed to increase VA outreach and further education on firearms and its relationship to Veteran suicide.

Given that the data lags two years behind, it remains to be seen whether Trump’s initiative bears fruit in combating the epidemic.

Nonetheless, the VA states that suicide prevention remains a primary focus. So what else is being done?

A spokesperson for the VA insisted that "suicide prevention is VA’s highest clinical priority, and the department is taking significant steps to address the issue.

The Joint Commission explained that “The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been able to reduce the number of in-hospital suicides from 4.2 per 100,000 admissions to 0.74 per 100,000 admissions on mental health units, an 82.4% reduction, suggesting that well-designed quality improvement initiatives can lead to a reduction in the occurrence of these tragic events.”

A representative also emphasized that "all VA health care facilities now provide same-day services in primary and mental health for Veterans who need them."

Since 2017, the department has been actively coordinating across its networks, as well as working in close partnership with the White House, Congress, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and local communities.

A Veterans Crisis Line expanded its text and chat access, and claims to have improved from answering 70 percent of incoming calls in 2017 to 99.6 percent of calls without rollover in 2019. The VA also attests to making progress in “clinical research developing and testing evidence-based psychotherapy advances, medications and alternative approaches to treating PTSD,” in addition to significantly broadening community partnerships, clinical partnerships, and outreach.

Other initiatives in the VA pipeline include the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act, which would require that the VA offer $25,000 vouchers to Veterans diagnosed as having PTSD. As it stands, the VA only financially backs service dogs for use related to mobility and physical needs, rather than mental needs.

The bill was introduced last summer by Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., but is yet to reach the House floor.

Last year, the VA also kicked off an outreach suicide prevention program in rural regions, having determined that suicide rates were heightened among those in more isolated pockets of the country.

According to Shulkin, the key lies in a hybrid partnership between the public and private sectors, and in making better use of the money available.

“When you look back at the problems of the VA, many have been systematic and span decades. It’s a system that needs to be updated and modernized. It needs to do things like embrace technology and give nurses more practical authority,” he underscored. “It’s not about just throwing more money at it. I have never felt that the VA suffered from a lack of financial support, but it needs to be internally evaluated in creating a better system of care.”

Voss, who co-authored “Where War Ends” with his sister Rebecca, also highlighted the importance of giving families a “peek behind the curtain” in the hopes that loved ones can ascertain a richer understanding of the moral traumas suffered by Veterans.

“For our family, the writing was healing — talking about the sorrow and shame and survivor’s guilt,” Rebecca added. “We need to all understand what war does to people. If we don’t understand, we aren’t understanding the real costs of sending our children into battle.”

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The stress, anxiety and forced isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic may have increased American's risk of suicide, including for Veterans. But that risk could continue to grow even as the pandemic begins to lessen, experts warn.

Veterans struggling financially because of the pandemic -- who lost work, took pay cuts or furloughs or who became homeless or were at risk of losing their homes -- could continue to carry those burdens, complicated further by existing health issues and an expectation their stress and other mental health concerns will disappear when the crisis ends.

Those feelings of anxiety, depression or even post-traumatic stress are normal and should be expected during a worldwide crisis, health experts emphasized during a press call hosted by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. But there's help available.

"During the actual crisis, suicides can go down," said Barbara Stanley, a New York State Psychiatric Institute researcher. "It's in the aftermath that it gets worse. We expect to see fallout in terms of possible increases in suicide as a tail going forward."

About 20 Veterans die by suicide daily, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. While that data is usually about two years old, the rate of suicide among Vets hasn't budged much over recent years. But that means it will be difficult to tell if the pandemic had a significant effect on the suicide rate.

In mid-March, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie told Veteran service organizations calls to the Veteran Crisis Hotline rose 12 percent.

That's why researchers said they're sounding the alarm now, to try to get resources to Veterans hopefully in time to save lives.

One of those resources is telehealth. The VA has moved much of its mental health care online or over the phone as its hospitals and clinics shuttered or limited patients during the outbreak.

Before March of this year, about 15 percent of all VA mental health appointments were by phone or online. Now, it's more than 80 percent, according to Dr. Matthew Miller, VA director for suicide prevention.

Stanley and other experts predicted a "marked rise in telehealth and teletherapy" on the horizon for mental health specifically, and said patients have been eager for the change, though doctors and other care providers have "had to make that adjustment... in the past, they may have never considered telehealth for suicidal clients. Now, they have been forced to make that change."

"This has been an adjustment we made to make sure Veterans have what they need," Miller said on the call. "Whether or not we keep offering these (telehealth) services, ultimately that's up to the Veterans. If a Veteran finds this is a modality that increases their access to services, then VA is all in. If their preference is traditional, face-to-face meetings, we'll keep that, too. This just provides more options for Veterans."

Before the pandemic, about 170,000 VA mental health appointments were by phone. In April, VA had 768,000 mental health appointments over the phone. VA had the capacity to support about 120,000 remote users in February, said Charles Worthington, VA's chief technology officer. Since then, VA has doubled that to 240,000 and is closing in on nearly 500,000, he said.

In March, VA held 34,000 online video appointments, up 70 percent from February. Telehealth group therapy held 2,700 meetings in March, up more than 200 percent from the previous month.

The department also recently launched a "COVID-19 chat-bot" capable of answering frequently asked questions about VA's response to the pandemic, check symptoms and direct Veterans to resources and help.

But it's not just the resources that are the key, experts said. It's Veterans knowing they're available and understanding that they can help.

"Suicide is not a forgone conclusion," said Julie Goldstein-Grumet, director at the Zero Suicide Institute, part of the Education Development Center. "There are resources available."

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If you or someone you know needs help, contact the Veteran Crisis Line 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 (select option 1 for a VA staff member). Veterans, service members or their families also can text 838255 or go to Veteranscrisisline.net.

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OPINION – While some of you may have recently heard of ‘Flanders Fields’ thanks to their amazing efforts helping rescue Americans and Afghans abandoned by our government (along with other groups such as PLAN B- The ARC) – you may not know that their primary mission is to help our Veterans fight drug addiction often brought on by the stresses of war.

After a year of record-breaking Veteran drug overdose deaths, the largest seizure of fentanyl in U.S history, the botched Afghanistan retreat, and an unprecedented rise in Veteran crisis center calls, the need to help Veterans fight addiction has never been greater.

It’s no secret that Veterans are disproportionately affected by alcoholism and addiction, but few understand that the well-publicized #22aDay (the average number of Veterans lost to suicide each day in America) does not include intentional overdoses or addiction related deaths.

The harsh reality is that any Veteran who has ever been prescribed opiates, and any Veteran who has struggled with addiction, will rarely choose any other means of ending their own life. Using a bottle (of alcohol or pills) is no different than pulling the trigger with a firearm.

And the truth is that the ACTUAL number of Veteran suicides per day could be DOUBLE what we’re hearing.

Numerous factors conspire to create dramatically under reported numbers: lack of identifying victims as Veterans, and not ordering toxicology reports in death investigations, are just two.

When people, including Veterans, fall into a life of addiction, they generally become ‘dregs of society,’ stripping them of any status or recognition they once held, this includes being proud American Veterans.

Flanders Fields has been a valued partner of American Defense News in highlighting the issue of Veteran suicides and removing the stigma surrounding Veteran addiction, which is the leading cause of both Veteran homelessness and suicide.

Over 70% of both cases involve substance abuse of some kind.

America must do a better job of making it ‘OK’ for Veterans to reach out for help and recognizing that many of our service members have to fight their own ‘war after the war.’

Today, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is Giving Tuesday. Every year, on this day people take the time to kick off the Christmas and holiday season by giving back to their community — whether it is by donating money to a charitable cause or volunteering.

And I can’t think of a better cause than this.

Use today (and the rest of this year) to spread the word about organizations such as Flanders Fields who are fighting the good fight to end Veteran addiction. And please make a donation, you will be glad you did.

Flanders Fields is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 charity organization.

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Senate lawmakers advanced a major Veterans suicide prevention initiative on Wednesday, creating a potential legislative path for the action on the issue by the end of the year.

But the measure also could turn into yet another election-year partisan fight if party leaders can’t find quick compromises on lingering policy differences.

The bill, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, has been stalled in the chamber since last year but was approved without objection as lawmakers prepare for their upcoming August recess.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., called the measure a much-needed new approach to federal suicide prevention efforts for Veterans.

“This bill will make necessary investments in suicide prevention,” he said on the Senate floor just before passage. “It will improve and support innovative research. It will make improvements and increase the availability of mental health care. VA will be required to better collaborate with community organizations across the country serving Veterans.”

The measure — named for Hannon, a Navy Seal who died by suicide in early 2018 — has been highlighted for months by some Veterans advocacy groups as a potential breakthrough measure efforts to curb Veterans suicide.

According to the latest department statistics, about 20 Veterans and service members die by suicide each day. More Veterans died by suicide from 2005 and 2017 (nearly 79,000) than the total number of U.S. troops who died in 30 years of war in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan (about 65,000).

The Hannon bill would broaden the Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention efforts through a series of investments in outreach programs and scholarships for mental health professionals.

VA officials would be granted direct hiring authority to more quickly fill staffing gaps in mental health services, and a new grant program would encourage collaboration with community organizations in providing quick aid to Veterans in distress, especially in rural areas.

“The biggest challenge facing VA today is that we’re losing 20 Veterans a day to suicide,” said Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont. “People have been looking for solutions and looking for solutions and the fact is there is no silver bullet. But what we’ve done today is give VA more tools in their toolbox to be able to address this problem.”

Many provisions in the bill echo proposals under discussion in the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in recent weeks, as that panel has made its own summer legislative push on suicide prevention.

Late Wednesday, committee ranking member Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., called for immediate action on the Senate plan.

“It includes numerous provisions that would help fulfill our calling to support and protect Veterans at risk,” he said in a statement. “While we cannot bring the thousands of (Veterans lost to suicide) back, we can solemnly honor them and all of our nation’s Veterans by delivering this bill to President Trump’s desk without any further delay.”

But quick passage of the Hannon bill without any House alterations is unlikely. The Democratic-lead House committee has looked at different requirements for community mental health grants, body cameras for VA police to better track first-responders suicide awareness training, and broader discussion of safe storage for Veterans firearms — all items that aren’t in the Senate version.

Still, the momentum of a major Senate Veterans bill combined with the House committee’s work could provide some momentum on the issue in coming months, and possibly compromise legislation by the end of the year.

If so, 2020 could prove to be a key milestone in the suicide prevention effort.

Earlier this summer, the White House unveiled its own initiative — the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) — designed to bring together federal agencies towards a common goal of finding solutions to the problem.

That work includes a new public awareness campaign about the signs of suicide and available mental health resources, as well as a promised discussion on lethal means safety.

Veterans Affairs officials have noted that only about one-third of Veterans who die by suicide have regular contact with department services or health care specialists. In recent years, as lawmakers and administration officials have worked to address the problem, the percentage of Veterans in VA care who have died by suicide has decreased.

Advocates say that points to an increasing need for outreach to Veterans unfamiliar with their military benefits, or still worried about the stigma of seeking help for mental health challenges.

Both the House and the Senate are expected to start their summer break in coming days. When lawmakers return to Capitol Hill in September (for a short legislative session before a longer, pre-election recess), House Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders are hoping for action on their pending bills.

Veterans experiencing a mental health emergency can contact the Veteran Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and select option 1 for a VA staffer. Veterans, troops or their family members can also text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for assistance.

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President Joe Biden’s White House on Tuesday released a new strategy aimed at reducing the “public health and national security crisis” of military and Veteran suicide. The approach includes gun control messaging through “safe storage” of firearms.

As part of the new approach, the Departments of Defense (DOD), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as the Office of Emergency Medical Services within the Department of Transportation (DOT), will work to create and implement improved “Lethal Means Safety.”

“This will include designing and launching a campaign to increase the safe storage of firearms and medications, and the use of safety planning interventions by providers,” the White House stated.

The strategy will include a public education campaign with public service announcements, social media and search engine advertising, safety training opportunities, as well as, “Multi-state storage maps to help individuals find where they can safely store firearms outside of their homes.”

The separate White House statement explained that the strategy is also designed to be built upon the Biden administration’s “previous gun violence prevention actions,” including the Justice Department’s guidance on “extreme risk protection” that allow “family members or law enforcement to petition for a court order temporarily barring people in crisis from accessing firearms,” commonly known as “red flag” laws.

“Suicide crises are often brief” and “evidence suggests they can be prevented if the individual in crisis lacks immediate access to the means for self-harm,” the strategy states.

The Biden administration said more than 65,000 Veterans have died by suicide since 2010, with the “overwhelming majority of them as the result of a firearm.” The number of suicides also amounts to “more than the total number of deaths from combat during the Vietnam War and the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan combined,” the White House said.

“These women and men volunteered to serve their country, often in dangerous conditions. We owe them, their families, and their fellow service members and Veterans a better, more coordinated response to address the military and Veteran suicide crisis,” the statement continued.

Additionally, the strategy seeks to improve access to “high-quality crisis care and follow-on support.” The White House emphasized the need for emergency transport, urgent care and emergency department, arguing that they are critical to “stabilizing patients and connecting them to care.”

“Agencies will also expand approaches to help identify service members, Veterans and their family members at risk of suicide, enabling early intervention,” the White House said.

The Biden administration is also working to address “upstream risk and protective factors,” including increased financial strain, lack of housing, food insecurity, unemployment, and legal issues. The effort includes “increased emphasis on promoting economic well-being, reducing housing and food insecurity, and supporting service members, Veterans, and their families in the transition to civilian life.”

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