veteran suicide Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Veterans Counselors Have Opportunity To Collaborate

Mental health providers and substance use disorder counselors are coming together to share information between those who may work with veterans in the community.

The Martinsburg VA Medical Center Mental Health Program is hosting a community mental health and substance use disorder summit virtually and in person.

On Friday, April 19 at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, health professionals will gather to discuss treatment methods and interventions for veterans suffering from mental illness or substance use disorder.

The event will bring together mental health providers and substance use disorder counselors to share information and provide educational tools to those who may work with veterans in the community.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than one in 10 veterans have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder.

Participants wishing to earn their Continued Medical Education (CME) certification will need to email Theresa Crawford at theresa.crawford@va.gov.

Those who will not be earning a certification are not required to register.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Free Care Now Available For Veterans In Crisis

Veterans in suicidal crisis can go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for free emergency health care and veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use these benefits.

Veterans in suicidal crisis can go to any Veterans Affairs or non-VA health care facility for free emergency health care and do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use these benefits.

This expansion in access to care will increase access to acute suicide care for up to nine million veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA health care.

Sara Yoke is the public affairs officer for the Beckley VA Medical Center. She said West Virginia has four medical centers and several VA outpatient clinics, allowing all West Virginia veterans to use this new benefit.

“When a veteran is in crisis, they’re not completely in the right headspace to be thinking about, ‘Oh, I need to do this, then this and this,’” Yoke said. “So this expansion makes it so that any veteran, whether they’re enrolled in VA or not, can go to any health care facility, at the VA or in the community, if they’re in a suicidal crisis for free emergency health care.”

Programs such as this aim to prevent veteran suicide by guaranteeing care at no cost, including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days.

“I think having these ongoing programs, in addition to what we already offer, I think it’s really making a difference in reducing the number of veteran suicides,” Yoke said. “And we work really closely with our community partners, because it takes a community effort to educate on what to do if a veteran is in crisis, what someone can do, but also what programs are available.”

In September, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released its 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which showed that veteran suicides decreased in 2020 for the second year in a row, and that fewer veterans died by suicide in 2020 than in any year since 2006.

“Veterans in suicidal crisis can now receive the free, world-class emergency health care they deserve – no matter where they need it, when they need it, or whether they’re enrolled in VA care,” said Denis McDonough, U.S. secretary for Veterans Affairs. “This expansion of care will save veterans’ lives, and there’s nothing more important than that.”

Resources Available To Prevent Veteran Suicide In Southern W.Va.

The Beckley VA Medical Center wants more people to know about the resources available to prevent veteran suicide. Suicide rates among veterans are more than 50 percent higher than civilian adults. The VA is hosting events in September, which is Suicide Prevention Month.

Sixteen veterans on average take their own life each day. Data from 2020 shows that 6,146 veterans died by suicide that year. The number has been declining since 2006 but there’s still more work to do.

This month, and throughout the year, veterans can find help at VA hospitals across the country, including in Beckley, West Virginia.

Beckley VA is partnering with Active Southern West Virginia to host a walk at Little Beaver State Park next week. Anyone can join the Suicide Prevention walk on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.

On the national level, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Ad Council centralized a website called VA.gov/REACH, where veterans can find resources to help. There are also images available to download and share on social media to help spread the word.

The campaign “Don’t Wait. Reach Out” encourages veterans to do just that.

Civilians can also help by checking in with the veterans in their life and encouraging them to reach out if they need support.

Help is available at Beckley VAMC for veterans year round. Learn more by visiting Beckley VA’s website and the Beckley VA on Facebook.

"Still Taking Casualties" Puts a Face on Veteran Suicide

Iraq War veteran Mark Combs was fed up and wanted to do something. He had just answered the phone in the spring of 2014 and was told another buddy had killed himself.

Combs, a native of Beckley, was about to graduate with a degree in Theater from West Virginia University. He was studying in an acting-for-the-camera class and decided to make a television show about veteran suicide.

Twenty-two vets a day die from suicide. That number is an estimate based on only half the states reporting suicide statistics to the Veterans’ Administration from 1999 to 2010.

The Washington Post conducted an extensive, nationwide poll of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the spring of 2014. Half of the vets who served said they know a fellow service member who has attempted or committed suicide. The New York Times ran articles on veteran suicide in September and December of last year. They found that the suicide rate is actually increasing, and the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs were at a loss to explain why.

But statistics are only a number, and Combs thought what was needed was a show where vets talk about suicide, not another study. Combs wanted to put a face on these statistics. He asked his West Virginia veteran friends who had tried to kill themselves if they would be willing to talk about it on camera. They said yes. “Still Taking Casualities” became that show.

Christopher Morris was in the Marines when he was wounded by an IED – Improvised Explosive Device – in Helmand Province, Afghanistan with only four days left on his tour of duty. Damien Gabis was an Army combat infantryman assigned to work with the Special Forces in Afghanistan when a vehicle packed with explosives rammed his Humvee in Afghanistan. Sarah Leifeit served two tours in the Army as an ammunition specialist; one in Afghanistan and one in Irag. And Jeremy Harrison was a Reserve engineer whose company built bridges for the Marines during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Watch “Still Taking Casualties,” as these veterans describe their time in the service and their experiences with re-integration during a special taping on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The show will be broadcast on West Virginia Public Broadcasting on Sunday, May 29 at 7 p.m. and re-broadcast Memorial Day at 8 p.m. on the West Virginia Channel. Web-only content and clips will be available at wvpublic.org/stories-service.