U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) this week helped lead a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers in requesting that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quickly develop a comprehensive outreach plan to connect America’s military veterans of both Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism to VA mental health benefits and services.
“More than two million veterans served during the Global War on Terrorism, including more than 800,000 in Afghanistan, and these service members deserve and earned the support that they need,” wrote Sen. Ernst and 34 of her colleagues in an Aug. 31 letter sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
The senators’ letter follows a report by the VA to the Daily Beast media outlet that the Veterans Crisis Line as of Aug. 25 had received roughly a 6 percent increase in calls since Aug. 13, the day the Taliban took control of half of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals. On Aug. 16, the day after Kabul fell to the Taliban, the Veterans Crisis Line received a nearly 12 percent increase in calls, compared to the same day last year, and on Aug. 25 the call line had a 17 percent increase compared to the previous year, according to the VA, which also told the Daily Beast that it doesn’t know if the increased calls are directly attributable to the situation in Afghanistan.
In their letter, Sen. Ernst and her colleagues, who included U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rob Portman (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Hoeven (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), pointed out that veterans between the ages of 18 to 34 have the highest suicide rate among former service members.
In fact, many veterans do not use Veterans Health Administration services, which provide many mental health resources geared at preventing suicide among service members, they wrote.
“This plan must proactively contact veterans in the coming months through means including, but not be limited to: digital correspondence, social media, phone calls, and text messages,” Sen. Ernst and her colleagues wrote. “Furthermore, VA’s outreach should consist of detailed information on clinical mental health services and community-based support systems, such as Veterans Service Organizations and VA Vet Centers.”