Deputy Secretary of Veteran Affairs pledges more support to combat veteran suicide

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- During the American GI Forum in Colorado Springs Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs made it known that the VA is prioritizing increased support for veterans struggling with transitioning to civilian life. This includes working to prevent veteran suicide.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs released a "National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report." The report outlines that in 2001, 5,989 veterans nationally died by suicide. That number rose to 6,261 by 2019. The suicide rate among veterans rose 35.9% from 2001 to 2019, from 23.3 per 100,000
in 2001 to 31.6 per 100,000 in 2019, per the annual report.

However, no additional report has been released with updated data on 2020 and 2021 numbers at the national level. At the local level, the El Paso County Coroner releases an annual report detailing suicide rates.

In 2019, there were 180 total suicides. Of those, 19% of the suicides were known as active or prior military duty. In the 2020 report, that number rose to 20% of the178 total suicides being people known as active or prior military duty.

Last year in 2021, that number made an even larger jump with 30% of the 176 suicides reported in El Paso County being people with known active or prior military duty.

Jim Lorraine, the CEO of America's Warrior Partnership, told KRDO that data he's seen indicates that the majority of veterans who take their life were not enrolled with the VA. He estimates that of the nearly 18 million veterans nationwide, around half of those are not a part of the VA or know of the resources they can provide.

He believes there should be more local resources that can identify who the veterans are in each community and equip them with the resources they need before something bad happens.

"You can't wait until they are in crisis. You have to get an upstream approach, build a relationship ahead of the crisis, connect them to resources, you will lower the suicide rate," Lorraine said.

Lorraine also explained that there's usually a two-year lag time with getting updated data to organizations like the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

"The data has to go from the county to the state, to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and then over to the VA," Lorraine said.

During Tuesday's GI Forum, Jose Martinez and Luis Vasquez, veterans, spoke to KRDO about ways to help prevent veteran suicide from happening in the Pikes Peak community.

"I think veterans sometimes are too proud to ask for help. We can use a lot more outreach," Martinez said. "A lot of times a veteran just needs to talk to another veteran. Individuals who have been there are able to express themselves to another individual."

Donald Remy, the Deputy Secretary of Veteran Affairs, told KRDO that the installation of the new national "988" suicide prevention hotline will help exponentially. Officials with the Rocky Mountian Crisis Partners say the hotline will make it easier for people to remember what to call if they're in a mental health crisis quickly compared to the previous number which was ten digits long.

"It starts when they are actually on active duty and it continues when they become veterans," Remy said. "We can make sure that they are aware of all the care and services that are available to them."

When people call or text 988, trained crisis counselors will be able to help.

"Whenever they need to reach out, we are there. Whenever they need somebody, we are available," Remy said. "We have counselors at our medical centers. We have vet centers where counselors are available."

If you are a veteran in El Paso County, the Mount Carmel Veterans Service Center is ready to help. At the state level, the American GI Forum has campuses in Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. You can find more information on the resources they provide here.