Fort Carson says its suicide rate is falling

Fort Carson says its suicide rate is falling

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 1, 2010 12:34:20 EDT

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Commanders at Fort Carson say the suicide rate among their soldiers is on track to drop by 45 percent.

Fort Carson's deputy commanding general for support, Brig. Gen. Jim Pasquarette, said Wednesday the decrease might be due in part to a campaign to make mental health experts more accessible and to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with seeking help.

He cautions that the rate could still climb. He says officials are still studying the reasons for the declining rate at the post.

Suicide rates are measured in deaths per 100,000 people.

Pasquarette says Fort Carson's rate was 44 per 100,000 in 2008, and this year is on track to be 25 per 100,000.

The Army's overall suicide rate is about 22 per 100,000.
Fort Carson says its suicide rate is falling

Military Suicide Prevention Task Force Report

Military Suicide Prevention Task Force Report
Aug 24, 2010
Department of Defense
Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces

The Armed Services Suicide Prevention Task Force presented its final report. The report contained a number of finding and included recommendations to overhaul the Department of Defense's ability to react to increasing suicide rates and detect potential problems. Congress established the panel in .. Read More
The Armed Services Suicide Prevention Task Force presented its final report. The report contained a number of finding and included recommendations to overhaul the Department of Defense's ability to react to increasing suicide rates and detect potential problems. Congress established the panel in August 2009 to study the issue of suicides in the military. The group has seven members from the military and seven members with professional suicide prevention and mental health backgrounds.
go here for videos
http://c-spanvideo.org/program/295153-1&personid=9274079

Report urges new office for suicide prevention

Report urges new office for suicide prevention

By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 25, 2010 9:14:15 EDT

The Defense Department should investigate military suicides more thoroughly and create a new top-level Pentagon office for suicide prevention, according to a new report from a congressional task force.

The military should “pattern suicide investigations on aviation accident investigations, and use the safety investigation process as a model to standardize suicide investigations,” said Bonnie Carroll, co-chair for the task force Congress created last year to examine the spike in military suicides.

The task force’s 14 members — seven military members and seven civilians — spent a year visiting installations and studying military suicides and the efforts in place to prevent them.

Their report, released Tuesday, includes 76 specific recommendations that include increasing troops’ dwell time, adding full-time suicide prevention coordinators and putting suicide prevention elements into broader military education programs.

A new office under the Office of the Secretary of Defense should help coordinate the tracking of suicides and the standardization of suicide prevention efforts, the report said.
read more here
Report urges new office for suicide prevention

900 suicide prevention programs across 400 military installations that don't work

If the task force turns to the same people they've been talking to all along, whatever they come up with will fail as well. It is not a matter of them not trying but they have been getting the wrong answers. Congress has been just as bad when they keep asking people who have suffered and it's too late to save the lives already gone. The only thing Congress hears about then is what has failed instead of what has worked. They have to start thinking outside the box and talk to different people. If they want to repeat failures, then they should be talking to people who failed or were failed. If they want to find out what works and succeeds then they should be talking to the veterans and families who already passed the test of living.

Task force calls military suicide prevention efforts inadequate
By BARBARA BARRETT
McClatchy Newspapers
A Defense Department task force devoted to preventing suicide in the military presented a grim picture of the trend Tuesday, with suicides rising at a near steady pace even as commanders apply various balms to soothe a stressed, exhausted fighting force.

The military has nearly 900 suicide prevention programs across 400 military installations worldwide, but in a report released Tuesday, the task force describes the Defense Department's approach as a safety net riddled with holes.

Last year, 309 men and women slipped through.

In 2008, 267 service members committed suicide. In 2007, the number was 224.

However, the task force also gave a message of hope: Prevention efforts can work, members said, and suicidal behavior after combat deployment isn't normal.

"Having any of our nation's warriors die by suicide is not acceptable - not now, not ever," said Army Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, a physician and co-chairman of the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces.

Among the task force's findings:

-The military doesn't have enough behavioral specialists and suicide prevention officers, and that those it has need better training.

-Suicide prevention programs aren't streamlined across services.

-Service members still encounter discriminatory and humiliating experiences when seeking psychiatric help.

-Unit-level leaders especially struggle with how to assist the men and women under their guidance.



Read more: Task force calls military suicide prevention efforts inadequate

Counseling center opens with goal of offering peace to safety forces

Counseling center opens with goal of offering peace to safety forces
Idea springs from trial of five sheriff's deputies

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer


Published on Tuesday, Aug 03, 2010


Inside the Furnace Street Mission is a place for those who help others to seek respite for themselves.

The Summit County Chaplaincy Center for safety forces will provide confidential counseling for stress debriefing after incidents involving on-duty safety personnel, including dispatchers.

Renovations began about 18 months ago, said the Rev. Bob Denton, chaplain for the Akron Police Department and executive director of Victim Assistance.

The need for the center is apparent by the escalation in counseling requests from last year to this year, he said.

''There were about 90 sessions last year and 71 sessions just since the first of this year,'' he said.

Most memorable in Denton's mind
are the officers still on the street because they asked for and received help.

''Four officers in the last year are all here because of it. They were going to eat their guns,'' he said.

The idea for the center was born during the trials of five Summit County sheriff's deputies who were accused of contributing to the 2006 death of jail inmate Mark D. McCullaugh Jr.
read more here
http://www.ohio.com/news/99818554.html

Military brass: Outreach essential to suicide prevention

Military brass: Outreach essential to suicide prevention

Special to the News
Updated: July 16, 2010 9:25 a.m.



Preventing suicide among service members and veterans calls for comprehensive education and communication, Army Col. Robert W. Saum, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said this week.

Testifying before the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Saum said the Department of Defense’s approach to suicide prevention is “multi-pronged,” and outreach to troops, veterans and their families is essential.

“[The department] has developed many resources and tools for service members, veterans and families,” Saum said in a written statement. “However, we realize utilization of these resources is dependent upon prevention education and communication about their existence.”

Although psychological treatment and counseling are available for those on the brink of suicide, he said, intervention programs also are in place to address stressors that may lead to suicide. Such programs include counseling for substance abuse and for relationship, legal, work and financial issues.

Saum stressed the importance of Defense Department collaboration with Veterans Affairs and private-sector organizations. The colonel’s organization serves as a central point of coordination for these groups, he said.
read more here
Outreach essential to suicide prevention

Bragg steps up suicide intervention training

Bragg steps up suicide intervention training

By Kevin Maurer - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 16:49:27 EDT

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Sgt. Mike Quintana was scared every time he was faced with a suicidal soldier. As a chaplain’s assistant, he was trained to help soldiers in crisis but did not know how to stop a soldier from trying to kill himself.

“It was really scary. I was very nervous. This person’s life is in my hands. I didn’t want to be held responsible,” Quintana said.

So, he’d refer soldiers to the chaplain or doctors. But after getting some specialized training, he learned how to talk to a suicidal soldier and stop him from taking his life.

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. This model helps them get through their temporary problems,” said Quintana, who is now a trainer at Fort Bragg.

Officials met Wednesday to discuss what they are doing to help bring down the number of suicides at the post. So far this year, the base has seen four confirmed suicides, with two other deaths under investigation. The base saw six suicides in 2009, 13 suicides in 2008 and 10 suicides in 2007.
read more here
Bragg steps up suicide intervention training

House Committee Reviews Effectiveness of VA’s Outreach Efforts on Suicide Prevention

Committee Reviews Effectiveness of VA’s Outreach Efforts on Suicide Prevention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2010

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, July 14, 2010, Chairman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ) conducted a hearing of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to examine the progress of suicide prevention outreach efforts at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Subcommittee evaluated the current state of VA’s ability to educate the public of VA services concerning suicide prevention and discussed the effectiveness of the media campaign to encourage veterans to seek help at the VA.

Public Law 110-110, The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, required VA to develop a pilot program encouraging veterans battling suicide to seek help at the VA. As a result, VA advertised its suicide hotline using Washington, D.C. metro area buses and metro subway trains, in addition to creating a Public Service Announcement for network television use.

“As you know, many of our newest generation of veterans, as well as those who served previously, bear wounds that cannot be seen and are hard to diagnose,” said Chairman Mitchell. “Proactively bringing the VA to them, as opposed to waiting for veterans to find the VA, is a critical part of delivering the care they have earned in exchange for their brave service. No veteran should feel they are alone,” said Chairman Mitchell.

The two witnesses of the hearing’s first panel were Warrant Officer Melvin Cintron, USA (Ret.) who has served multiple tours in Iraq, and also Ms. Linda Bean, who tragically lost her son to suicide after he returned from his second tour in Iraq. Mr. Cintron observed that while the VA’s suicide hotline is a valuable and much needed service, there should be other equally accessible resources offered by the VA that service intermediate levels of urgency prior to the final resort of calling the suicide hotline. Ms. Bean stated that to improve suicide prevention and outreach, the VA must publicize civilian mental health counseling alternatives that might better suit some veterans who are either not located near a VA facility, or who may otherwise choose not to approach the VA for help.

Bob Filner (D-CA), Chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said, “The Department of Veterans Affairs has made significant progress in its effort to address the tragic problem of veteran suicide. However, until we can be confident that an effective system is in place to reach 100% of our veterans who may be contemplating suicide, this Committee will not stop in its efforts to ensure that a more robust and all encompassing VA outreach program has been developed and implemented. To only help the veterans who walk through the doors of a VA facility is not enough. The Department must vigorously reach out to the entire veteran population and educate those not currently enrolled in the VA health care system about the services available and how to go about accessing them.”
read more here
Outreach Efforts on Suicide Prevention

Army mounts anti-suicide campaign with soldier who survived

Spc. Joseph Sanders survived thanks to the awareness of Spc. Albert Godding. He took a chance and was more afraid of a friend losing his life than of losing a friendship. After all, when you think about pull out the pin on a rifle in Iraq, it is a dangerous thing to do but it would have been more dangerous for Sanders to be able to fire the bullet into himself. Now this act by Godding could in fact end up saving many more lives. Sanders lived to tell his story and will be part of the campaign to save more lives. Sanders also credits the fact he was able to talk to a mental health worker soon after. Wonderful story all the way around.

A victory as Army mounts anti-suicide campaign

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
Jun 19, 10:27 am ET
DENVER – Army Spc. Joseph Sanders was despondent over the breakup of his marriage and feeling alone in the oppressive heat of an Iraqi summer when he turned his rifle on himself and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. His buddy, Spc. Albert Godding, had disabled the rifle by removing the firing pin after Sanders told him he was thinking of killing himself.

It was a singular but welcome victory in the Army's battle against suicides, which last year claimed the lives of 163 soldiers on active duty and 82 Guard and Reserve soldiers not on active duty.

Congress ordered the Defense Department in 2008 to study ways to address the problem, and the Army started its own task force last year after an alarming spike in suicides in January and February.

The Army also launched a campaign to teach soldiers how to spot suicide warning signs and what to do about them. Godding credits that training for making him aware of the danger Sanders was in.

"Feeling better took time," said Sanders. "I believe a lot had to do with that I had a mental health specialist to speak to right away."

Sanders has agreed to appear in an upcoming video for the Army's suicide-prevention campaign, said Col. Chris Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.

also on this
Carson GI cited for preventing suicide in Iraq

Six years of "mental health strategic plan" saved 250 lives a year?

One life saved is wonderful but when you think that 18 a day have taken their own lives, discovering that after six years of "mental health strategic plan" has only produced this, we should all be very, very concerned. The suicide prevention hotline has been up and running a couple of years now yet we still see the numbers of suicides in the military and among the veteran population go up along with more and more veterans calling the hotline. If the military and the VA had it finally right, why then would they ever reach the point where they were calling a "suicide" prevention line instead of a doctor or mental health provider? Anyone bother asking this question? Any reporters out there ever even begin to wonder? How could they just keep saying they have a plan, they have a system, they have a program, when the results are this lousy?

VA Strives to Prevent Veteran Suicides
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2010 – With more than 6,000 veterans committing suicide every year –- and 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan taking their own lives during fiscal 2009 alone -- the Department of Veterans Affairs is redoubling its outreach to veterans and promoting its toll-free suicide-prevention hotline.

National statistics show that veterans constitute about 20 percent of the 30,000 to 32,000 U.S. deaths each year from suicide. Of an average of 18 veterans who commit suicide each day, about five receive care through the VA health-care system. More than 60 percent of those five had diagnosed mental-health conditions.

Dr. Janet E. Kemp, VA’s national suicide prevention coordinator, is committed to improving those statistics. She’s heading up an aggressive outreach program to address problems that lead to suicide, and to ensure veterans as well as their loved ones know where to turn for help.

Speaking with reporters yesterday, Kemp cited mounting evidence that veterans in the 18- to 29-year-old age group who use VA health-care services are less likely to commit suicide than those who don’t.

Based on statistical comparisons between the two groups, she estimated that 250 fewer veterans enrolled in the VA system take their own lives each year. She credited VA’s screening and assessment processes designed to identify high-risk patients and provide intervention, as needed.

Yet, during fiscal 2009, 707 members of the general veteran population died at their own hands, and another 10,665 made unsuccessful suicide attempts. In addition to the 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who committed suicide – 94 men and four women – there were 1,868 who made non-fatal attempts on their lives. Of these, 1,621 were men and 247 were women, reflecting trends in the general U.S. population.

“Just one death is one too many,” said Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief for mental health services at VA’s central office. “The bottom line is, the efforts we put into enhancing overall mental health services have correlated with the reduction of suicide,” especially among males who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alarmed by an increase in suicides among this population between 2003 and 2004, VA adopted a comprehensive mental health strategic plan in 2004 that has helped to bring the numbers down.
click link for more

Army and Marines should learn from Air Force programs

Marines and Soldiers face more than the Air Force, but it is the Air Force with the best programs. How is this possible? They deal with trauma the way the rest of the country does. They take action and understand the men and women serving are still humans. They take fast action understanding that the sooner they start to heal, the better the results. The Army and Marines face more traumatic events more often and on the ground but the Air Force is way ahead of them. Just doesn't seem right at all.

Air Force Prevention Program reduces suicide rates significantly


The U.S. Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) has reduced suicide rates significantly since it was launched in 1996, according to a new study that examined almost three decades of data.
"The enduring public health message from 12 years of this program is that suicide rates can be reduced, and that program success requires interventions to be consistently supported, maintained, and monitored for compliance," the researchers conclude in the study published by the American Journal of Public Health.
Kerry L. Knox, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, led the study. She also directed a landmark assessment of the AFSPP almost seven years ago.
In the current study, which examined suicide rates in the Air Force from 1981 to 2008, Knox and her colleagues found a reduction in the mean suicide rate after the implementation of the prevention program of about 21 percent that was consistent except for one year, 2004.
Still, the researchers called the AFSPP "the first long-term sustained effort of its kind to serve as an example of what communities can accomplish in reducing morbidity and mortality attributable to suicidal behaviors if there is ongoing commitment to do so."
The AFSPP encourages members of the Air Force to seek help, promotes the development of coping skills and fights the stigma associated with receiving mental health care. The program stresses the absence of negative career consequences for seeking and receiving treatment.
Through the AFSPP, suicide prevention is included in all military training. Commanders receive training on how and when to use mental health services, and their role in encouraging early help-seeking behavior. Trauma stress response teams were established worldwide to respond to traumatic incidents such as terrorist attacks, serious accidents, or suicide. These teams help personnel deal with the emotions they experience in reaction to traumatic incidents.
read more here
Air Force Prevention Program reduces suicide rates

Suicide prevention bill a tribute to Sgt. Coleman Bean

Suicide prevention bill a tribute to local veteran

Holt says government failed Army sergeant from East Brunswick
BY BRIAN DONAHUE Staff Writer

After two combat tours in Iraq, Coleman Bean of East Brunswick sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but he did not receive the support that is in place for many returning veterans.

Bean was a member of the U.S. Army’s Individual Ready Reserve, with which he had signed a four-year commitment after completing his first tour of duty. This meant that Bean, who fought in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, could be called back to active duty at any time and assigned anywhere the military had a need. Bean was called back in 2007 and assigned to a unit of the Maryland National Guard, with whom he served his second tour in Iraq.

Bean fought in Northern Iraq through much of 2007 and early 2008. Upon returning that May, the Maryland soldiers had access to the services and help of their Army base, but the IRR soldiers went back to their home states, basically left to their own devices. A few months after returning to New Jersey, Bean, whose PTSD symptoms included extreme anxiety attacks and depression, took his life in the early hours of Sept. 6, 2008, at the age of 25.

Bean’s parents, Greg and Linda, of East Brunswick, have corresponded with Holt since Coleman’s passing, and support the legislation.

“It is important not only as a suicide prevention measure, but because it also will help Individual Ready Reserve soldiers find the assistance they are currently lacking in other areas of their lives, like career and medical needs,” said Greg Bean, former executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers. “These fine men and women served America with courage and integrity, and now it is up to us to make sure that their needs are met as well. Too many IRR veterans have slipped through the safety net provided to other returning members of the armed forces, and this legislation will help close the gaps.”

go here for more
Suicide prevention bill a tribute to local veteran

Actresses Demi Moore, Nia Vardalos save teen via Twitter

Actresses Demi Moore, Nia Vardalos use Twitter to stave off suicide attempt in Casselberry

The Associated Press

11:17 a.m. EDT, March 19, 2010


CASSELBERRY — Actresses Demi Moore and Nia Vardalos were linked to an online chain of Twitter posts that ultimately led to Florida authorities intervening when a young man threatened to commit suicide.

Moore's Twitter account, mrskutcher, was among those responding to a message from a young man threatening to hang himself early Friday in Casselberry.

Moore — with 2.5 million followers — and husband Ashton Kutcher are both active on the social network.

Vardalos' eponymous account included a message that she had called a suicide hotline and been connected to Florida police. "I gave his name+city. They went to home, helped him," one message read.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said authorities received two calls around 2:30 a.m., one from California and one from Vancouver, British Columbia. Both callers reported the suicide threat on Twitter. There was no record of the callers' names, Lt. Sonia Pisano said.

Deputies went to a home and took an uninjured juvenile male to a hospital, Pisano said. She said she could not provide more specifics.

Calls to representatives for Moore and for Vardalos, who starred in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," went unanswered early Friday.
read more here
Twitter to stave off suicide attempt

Parents of suicide find 'immediate bond' in each other

Parents of suicide find 'immediate bond' in each other
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
March 4, 2010 3:43 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NIMH: There are about 33,000 suicides per year in the United States
Marie Osmond's son, Michael, 18, apparently took his life last week in Los Angeles, California
Survivors say support groups, online networks, keeping busy help
Guilt often plays role in lives of parents of suicides, expert says

(CNN) -- Margaret Pelleriti's son Michael was a straight-A student in 11th grade. His mother didn't know anything was wrong the day he took a gun to the train tracks and shot himself in the head.

More than 16 years have passed since then, but she would not say she has "moved on." She has found comfort in counseling and participating in outreach activities, but still mentally beats herself up sometimes.

"You do take those steps forward, but something will always stop you, and you'll go back to remembering," said Pelleriti, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"When I had heard about Marie Osmond's son, I was like, 'Whether it's from the top of the pinnacle or to the average Joe, the circle goes around,' " she said. Pelleriti shared her story with CNN's iReport
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/04/suicide.parents.osmond/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Robert E. Litman, co-founder of suicide prevention center, dies at 88

Robert E. Litman, co-founder of suicide prevention center, dies at 88
Dr. Litman opened the pioneering L.A. center, the first of its kind, in 1958, when research into suicide was almost nonexistent; its innovations include a 24-hour suicide hotline.

By Valerie J. Nelson

March 7, 2010


Dr. Robert E. Litman, a psychiatrist who co-founded the nation's first comprehensive suicide prevention center more than 50 years ago in Los Angeles and carried out groundbreaking work there, has died. He was 88.

Litman died Feb. 14 of acute leukemia at a daughter's Manhattan Beach home, said his wife, Connie.

"He was something of a genius," said Sam Heilig, a social worker who helped establish the center. "He was a prominent psychoanalyst . . . and a very creative thinker. He did strong, imaginative, adventurous work."

In 1958, when research into suicide was almost nonexistent and largely discouraged, the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center opened in a dilapidated, abandoned tuberculosis ward on the grounds of Los Angeles County Hospital.
read more here
Robert E. Litman

Poll shows sailors think seeking help hurts career

One of the strongest messages given by an Iraq veteran regarding suicide prevention is that it should not be when a life is on the line but there needs to be a PTSD hotline they can call before it reaches the point where suicide is even thought about.

There is much discussion about the number of calls the suicide prevention hotline receives but there should be more discussion on how it has gotten so bad that there are so many on the verge of suicide in the first place!

Now we read that even after all these years, along with millions of dollars, they still think seeking help will harm their career.

Navy Leadership Focuses on Suicide Prevention
Posted February 20th, 2010 by USNavySeals
In a previous post, we talked about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and shared a feature on Time.com on the experiences of Retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Waddell, where PTSD was described as “an invisible wound of war.” And in yet another previous post, we shared with you a Navy Times editorial that talked about the apparent lack of sympathy and support for the families of service members who are victims of suicide.

In a Poll, Sailors expect that seeking help for stress reactions and suicidal thoughts may have a negative impact to their career.

read more here

Navy Leadership Focuses on Suicide Prevention

Veteran Suicides Prompts Immediate Response and Action

Veteran Suicides Prompts Immediate Response and Action from VA and SEN. Murray
The Military Wire received numerous emails regarding yesterday's news of the government report acknowledging double digit increases in veteran suicides. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, reach out. Suicide is final. It has generational impact - on a personal note, my family experienced this in October 2009 and it will stay with us forever.

Post this number: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The military and our government are not taking yesterday's news lightly. The VA stated that suicide rates among veterans between the age 18 - 29 went up 26 percent from 2005 to 2007 and continued to climb in 2008 and 2009, reaching record levels in 2009.

This has prompted the VA to consider more stringent protocols be put in place on how to handle veterans contemplating suicide
read more here
Veteran Suicides Prompts Immediate Response and Action

Veteran Gives Insight on Suicide Prevention

Veteran Gives Insight on Suicide Prevention
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2010 – When retired Army Maj. Ed Pulido was medically evacuated from Iraq in August 2004, he knew tough challenges were ahead, as he’d have to learn to live without his left leg.


But as he sat in his hospital bed at Brooke Army Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston, Texas, he began to realize that recovering from his physical disability was only a small part of that challenge.

“When my leg was taken away … I sat in the hospital bed not knowing what was happening to me mentally,” said Pulido, who medically retired after a 19-year Army career. “I remember those three weeks at Brooke where I thought about the fact that as positive as I am, I hit that dark place, and those hidden wounds were the ones that would cripple me at times when I just didn’t understand.”

Post-traumatic stress had taken form, and depression and anxiety began to take their toll. Suddenly, suicidal thoughts began to surface, the Oklahoma native said.

Pulido shared the story of his struggles yesterday with an audience of more than 1,000 military and other government agency health-care workers and officials gathered here for the 2nd Annual Suicide Prevention Conference sponsored by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments.

The weeklong conference began yesterday and goes through Jan. 14 to give department health-care professionals insight to each organization’s programs and best practices in suicide prevention. Nearly 100 veterans who’ve experienced suicidal thoughts, such as Pulido, are expected to share their stories of survival.
read more here
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57470

President Obama kept his promise on PTSD

When President Obama was running for the office, he made a trip to the Montana National Guard to take a look at the program they came up with to address suicides. Keep in mind that while I track this all day long everyday, then Senator Obama had a lot of other things to pay attention to. I knew this was one of the best programs out there, but so did Obama. That told me something right there. The man not only cared but was paying attention. He paid attention so much that he told the brother of Chris Dana, who committed suicide, that he would make sure this program went national if he ended up elected. President Obama just kept his promise with this.

Vet counseling programs national models

The Associated Press - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 29, 2009 7:41:50 EDT

CONCORD, N.H. — Two veterans counseling measures based on New Hampshire programs have been signed into law.

The suicide prevention amendment was sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Congressman Paul Hodes. It requires that the Department of Defense establish a program to provide National Guard members and reservists, their families, and communities with training in suicide prevention and counseling in response to suicide.

The Yellow Ribbon Plus amendment, also sponsored by Shaheen, calls on the department to identify lessons learned from programs such as one in New Hampshire that identified the need for more personalized counseling and support services for National Guard and reservists and their families.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_veterans_counseling_102909/

VA, DoD Host National Mental Health Summit

VA, DoD Host National Mental Health Summit

Shinseki, Gates Address Unprecedented Forum



WASHINGTON (Oct. 26, 2009) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and
the Department of Defense (DoD) are hosting a first-of-its-kind national
summit to address the mental health care needs of America's military
personnel, families and Veterans, harnessing the programs, resources and
expertise of both departments to deal with the aftermath of the
battlefield.



"This is about doing what is best for those who serve this country and
using every federal, state and community asset to do it," said Secretary
Shinseki. "We're proud of the people and the organizations who have
stepped up today to make sure everyone who fought for this country gets
a fighting chance for a sound mind and an independent life."



The summit, which opened today at the Capital Hilton in Washington,
D.C., invited mental health experts from both departments, Congress, the
president's cabinet and more than 57 non-government organizations to
discuss an innovative, wide-ranging public health model for enhancing
mental health for returning service members, Veterans, and their
families.



Striking down the stigma associated with the mental health risks of
service in a combat zone is among the priorities of the joint VA-DoD
campaign on mental health for service members, Veterans and families.
Various studies show a large incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
occurs during the lifetime of many combat Veterans.



A final report following the summit will summarize policies, programs
and practices that show promise for enhancing the well-being and care
for individual service members, Veterans, and their families. VA and
DoD view mental health in returning service members and Veterans as a
matter of public health and an opportunity to engage in a broad response
throughout America.



VA operates the largest mental health program in the nation. VA has
bolstered its mental health capacity to serve combat Veterans by adding
thousands of new professionals to its rolls in the last four years. The
department also has established a suicide prevention hotline
(1-800-273-TALK) and Web site available for online chat at
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Veterans