United States military veteran suicide

During the mid-1990s, a paradigm shift in addressing veteran suicide occurred with the development of a national strategy which included several Congressional Resolutions.

It is hard for veterans to transition into civilian life because they are used to structured routines everyday while being in the military.

More active duty service members, 177, died from suicide that year than were killed in combat, 176.

[10] According to a 2022 report by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, nearly half of U.S. military service members have seriously considered suicide since joining the Armed Forces.

[11] A 2023 study led by the University of Texas at San Antonio examined suicide among veterans of post-9/11 conflicts.

[14][15] In 2015, the Clay Hunt Veterans Suicide Prevention Act passed in the Senate[16] and was then enacted as Pub.

In August 2016, the VA released another report which consisted of the nation's largest analysis of veteran suicide.

[21] In May 2019, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, called the PREVENTS Initiative, to counter veteran suicide.

[24] The first suicide prevention center in the United States was opened in Los Angeles in 1958 with funding from the U.S. Public Health Service.

[25] However, it wasn't until mid-1990s when suicide started being the central issue of the political-social agenda of the United States.

[25] As recommended in the U.N. guidelines, these groups set out to establish a public and private partnership that would be responsible for promoting suicide prevention in the United States.

This partnership jointly sponsored a national consensus conference on suicide prevention in Reno, Nevada, which developed a list of 81 recommendations.

In the summer of 2009, VA added a one-to-one "chat service" for veterans who prefer to reach out for assistance using the Internet.

With Obama's administration suicide prevention strategies for veterans expanded and a goal was formed to make the process of finding and obtaining mental health resources easier for veterans, work to retain and recruit mental health professionals, and make the government programs more accountable for the people they serve.

[28] The EO is written specifically to expand veteran suicide prevention and drug abuse efforts.

[29] The VCL is available 24/7 and can be reached via phone call, text message, or anonymous online chat.

At its three call centers, the VCL maintains a qualified staff of responders who are ready to help veterans deal with their personal crises.

[33] In the approved 2020 VA budget, mental health services received $9.4 billion in funding while $222 million was devoted to suicide prevention.

Especially since veterans may be less likely to seek help from a mental health professional, non-mental health physicians are in a key position to screen for PTSD, depression, and suicidal ideation in these patients.The same study also found that in veterans with PTSD related to combat experience, combat-related guilt may be a significant predictor of suicidal ideation and attempts.

[36] Craig Bryan of the University of Utah National Center for Veterans Studies said that veterans have the same risk factors for suicide as the general population, including feelings of depression, hopelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, a history of trauma, and access to firearms.

Veterans pursuing education, especially those utilizing the post 9/11 GI Bill, are more likely to have protective factors related to socialization and reintegration.

[44] Education benefits often give veteran students an income,[42] a goal to continue to work towards and socialization with the general population.

In 2013, 22Kill was started as a social media campaign to raise awareness about the staggering Veteran suicide statistics.

This movement helped them raise over half a million dollars and brought widespread attention to the Veteran suicide epidemic.

[46][47] During this time, 22Kill transitioned from awareness campaigns to suicide prevention offering a multitude of programs.

[46] This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of Health and Human Services