Experts: VA suicide programs need more exposure
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 2, 2011 14:23:16 EST
The Veterans Affairs Department has a myriad of programs to help prevent veterans’ suicide, but many — perhaps most — troubled veterans never get access to them, experts told lawmakers on Friday.
About 70 percent of all U.S. veterans have no contact with VA, making any program’s effectiveness limited.
“Why aren’t we buying targeted Facebook ads?” said Tom Tarantino, a former Army captain who is now with the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, testified at a hearing for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s health panel.
Facebook would allow VA and others to “laser target” veterans and their families, he said. “We just don’t do that — and I don’t know why.”
Rep. David Roe, R-Tenn., pointed to several innovative ways to reach people, including a start-up effort by the Google online search engine to help better organize information about veterans’ services and also efforts by some cities to include veterans services on metropolitan 311 emergency phone lines.
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