Veterans are six times more likely to die by suicide than in combat, and twenty veterans take their own lives every day.
Connecticut lawmakers cited those statistics as a reason for a $462,000 federal grant to EasterSeals Veterans Rally Point Center, a Norwich-based nonprofit that supports veterans.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
“Twenty veterans every day take their own lives,” Blumenthal said. “That’s why we’re here. We have failed, utterly failed, to eliminate veteran suicide as a cause of death for our nation’s heroes, and that is unacceptable to us. We have a responsibility and an imperative to do more and do it right so that we save lives.”
One service will be expanding peer-to-peer outreach, where veterans speak directly with other veterans to help them navigate life outside of the military and find new employment.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said Congress has made efforts in the past few years to reduce the problem with a crisis helpline, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“Over 1.6 million calls have come in nationally for individuals experiencing a crisis, that just sort of deals with the crisis moment,” Courtney said. “We need obviously to make available to people much more substantive help in terms of whether its therapy, education, even clinical services in terms of trying to help people get through mental health issues, which can be successfully mitigated and treated.”
