“President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Saturday that contains dozens of methods to prevent suicide among veterans, including measures to boost mental health research and staffing at the Department of Veterans Affairs and establish a multimillion-dollar grant program for state and local groups.”
“Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., leaders of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said the bipartisan bill had the potential to reform mental health care at the VA and improve veterans’ access to lifesaving mental health services.”
“’This new law combines the best ideas from veterans, veterans service organizations, the VA, and mental health care advocates to deliver innovative solutions that’ll help heal invisible wounds of war through increased access to care, alternate therapies and local treatment options,’ Tester said in a statement.”
“Most notably, the bill will offer up to $174 million during the next five years to state and local groups that provide suicide-prevention services to veterans and their families. Lawmakers believe the program will create better collaboration between the organizations and the VA. They think the partnership will result in earlier identification of veterans who are at risk of suicide, giving mental health providers more time to intervene.”
“The bill is called the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, named for a retired Navy commander who died by suicide in 2018 at age 46.”
“The legislation comes at a particularly dire time, as experts speculate the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is worsening mental health problems across the country…” Read the full article here.
Source: Trump signs veteran suicide prevention measures into law – By Nikki Wentling, October 19, 2020. Stars and Stripes.
