Suicide News
Veteran Suicide Estimate of 22 Per Day Sparks Debate, Spurs Lawmakers Into Action
Thursday, December 31, 2015 | Category: Suicide - National
Congress passed the 2015 "Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act" to address what lawmakers saw as an epidemic of suicides among Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans. The rate of 18-22 veteran suicides a day was taken from a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs study. The 2014 update reflected similar rates. The Act requires "a labor-intensive study between the VA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to put together a national death index to get a real head count of all veteran deaths since 1979, including suicides."
The number itself, taken from a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs study, is debated by researchers,
VA May Be Saving Veterans From Suicide
Thursday, June 11, 2015 | Category: Suicide - National
A VA study found that women veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women. Also noted was that veterans enrolled in VA care, had lower rates of suicide. Women veteran rates, across all generations, remained elevated whereas rates for male veterans were elevated only for those under 50 years old.
Air Force veteran’s suicide sheds light on female soldiers and PTSD
Thursday, March 5, 2015 | Category: Suicide - National
Twenty-two veterans commit suicide each day. Research suggests that female veterans are far less likely than male veteran to take their own life, but female veterans are three times more likely to kill themselves than women who have never served.
Senate Backs Bill to Address Veterans' Suicide
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 | Category: Suicide - National
bill aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic among military veterans is on its way to the president for his signature.
Both the Senate and the House unanimously approved a bill named for a 26-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, Clay Hunt, who killed himself in 2011. On average, there are 22 successful military veteran suicides daily.
VA Touts Progress on Suicides; Data Tell Another Story
Monday, August 25, 2014 | Category: Suicide - National
In the past, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rejected media and watchdog organization's allegations that America faced a suicide epidemic among former military personnel. With the emergence of data, the numbers seem to reflect a very different story. The VA and Department of Defense published a clinical guide in 2013, stating 18 to 22 die daily. Some say this number is higher. The veterans' suicide crisis line, as of June 2012, was receiving about 17,000 calls per month, an increase of more than 17 percent from 2009 with 4 of 5 veterans seeking help and nearly one-third of them contemplating suicide. Recent VA Office of Inspector General investigations indicated a "nationwide patchwork of mismanagement and treatment breakdowns."
Suicide Rate Among Young Veterans Has Tripled, Report Finds
Saturday, January 11, 2014 | Category: Suicide - National
At least 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Young male veterans under the age of 30 are three times more likely to commit suicide when compared to civilian males in the same age group. Between 209-2011, the number of veteran suicides largely remained unchanged. However, the number of 18-24 year old male veterans who committed suicide increased by a rate of 33 per 100,000 over the three year period.