By Tom Waring
Wire Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-13th dist.) applauded the signing of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into law.
“Suicide among our nation’s veterans is a much too common occurrence,” Boyle said. “Thanks to this law, many brave veterans who struggle to overcome mental health challenges will be given better resources, support and benefits they have earned and deserve.
Hunt, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, committed suicide on March 31, 2011. More than 8,000 veterans commit suicide every year.
The bill will support veterans by expanding access to and improving the effectiveness of mental health services to help respond to their specific needs. It will establish a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning service members with accessing Department of Veterans Affairs mental health care services.
To ease access to services, the bill will require the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all mental health services for veterans. Also included in the legislation is a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists that will help address the shortage of mental health care professionals.
To improve care, the legislation will require an annual, third-party evaluation of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what’s working and what’s not.
