Veteran Administration area suicide prevention coordinator James Bastien says Clay Hunt act recognizes veterans need 'a lot more' in area of mental health services
The Senate, joining earlier similar action by the House, unanimously approved the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. President Obama has signed the legislation into law. Its provisions include incentives to help expand mental health staff at the VA's 800 hospitals and clinics, outside evaluations of its mental health programs to target best practices and areas for improvement, and creation of a one-stop website of related resources.
This is significant. Many older Veterans in previous conflicts have also experienced much the same distress as the OEF/OIF Veterans with one exception: The Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been sent on multiple deployments and have not have had the same access to mental health professionals as in previous conflicts.
Some Veterans from previous conflicts think that the Veterans of the most recent conflicts are somehow "weak willed" or 'soft' as I myself have heard from Veterans in their 70' and older. But the grim reality is that lip service has been given to Veterans services and support and real efforts have been severely lacking.
Go to http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/veteran_administration_area_suicide_prevention_coordinator_james_bastien_says_clay_hunt_act_recognizes_veterans_need_a_lot_more_in_area_of_mental_health.html#incart_story_package
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