President Increases Efforts to Prevent Suicide Among Veterans

The federal government doubled down on its commitment to mental health care for veterans in September, when President Barack Obama signed an executive order calling for increased access to behavioral health care. The goal of the initiative is to reduce the rates of suicide and untreated mental health disorders affecting veterans and active duty troops. Mental health is increasingly becoming a more recognizable and less taboo topic among veterans over time, as the long-term impacts of serving one’s country become more obvious and accepted over time.

“We may be turning a page on a decade of war, but America’s responsibility to you has only just begun,” Obama said in a speech announcing the executive order. “Just as we give you the best equipment and technology on the battlefield, we need to give you the best support at home.”

The order directed the departments of veteran affairs, defense, education, and health and human services to work together to expand and coordinate efforts to prevent suicide and fill vacancies for jobs relating to veteran’s mental health. The order also called for the departments to work more with community groups, in addition to increasing staffing at veteran’s administration (VA) offices, and a renewed focus on mental health research.

“If you are hurting, it’s not a sign of weakness to seek help; it’s a sign of strength. And we are going to help you remain strong — Army Strong,” the president told a crowd of over 5,000 service members at a 1st Aviation Support Battalion hangar at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The new rule requires the VA to increase its veterans’ crisis line capabilities by 50 percent by the end of 2012, to make sure veterans will receive a response from a trained mental health professional within 24 hours of identifying themselves or a friend as a suicide risk. The VA was also authorized to hire 800 additional veteran counselors to help their cohorts through tough times.

These changes came after the VA’s own inspector general found that veterans seeking mental health treatment had to wait over two weeks to receive an evaluation over half the time. The VA’s own rules dictate that two weeks is the maximum wait time, while the average wait time was actually 50 days.

The VA will also work closely with the Department of Defense to create a nationwide suicide prevention campaign marketed to veterans. Suicide among veterans started to enter the national consciousness when rates of occurrence began to increase noticeably in 2004. A general lack of public awareness and a certain level of stigma associated with mental health issues have been some of the largest hurdles in the effort to curb the trend. In many ways, counteracting these public perception issues is as much a part of the battle as providing services.

Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander John Hamilton voiced his support of the president’s move in an interview with the Army Times. “Today, more American service members die by their own hands than at the hands of our enemies, which is why the VFW is proud to see our commander-in-chief taking action to address this national crisis.”