Millions of dollars to help prevent suicide among U.S. soldiers and reservists is one step closer to being put in place.
U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) successfully offered an amendment in Congress to set aside $20 million for efforts to prevent military suicide. The funding is included in the 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, approved by the House two weeks ago.
The funds will support programs like those proposed in the Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act, a bill that Holt introduced in honor of Bean, a Middlesex County veteran who took his own life in 2008 at the age of 25 after two tours of duty in Iraq.
Holt tried in each of the prior two years to pass the Bean bill, which twice received House approval but was blocked by Republican senators from advancing to the president’s desk.
“It (the new amendment) will accomplish what the Bean bill was intended to accomplish,” Holt told reporters during a July 7 teleconference.
Over the past two years, more U.S. soldiers have died by their own hands than in combat, Holt noted. An estimated 18 veterans commit suicide each day. “This funding will help to convey a critical message to America’s soldiers: You are not alone. If you have suffered such trauma in service to this country that you are considering suicide, America stands ready to help you,” Holt said.
Coleman Bean’s parents, Greg and Linda, of East Brunswick, have worked with Holt to gain support for such programs.
“We are grateful for Representative Holt’s unflagging efforts to find solutions to this issue, which is so close to our hearts,” Greg Bean said.
Coleman Bean, who suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), did not get the help he needed, Holt said, and the congressman hopes that this money will help men andwomenwho have been in conflict or are between tours of duty.
One method that has been shown to help veterans, Holt said, is to have trained counselors check inwith them on a regular basis to assess their mental health.
“I have been on a campaign to see that the VA(U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) and the Department of Defense do a better job of looking after the mental health needs of soldiers,” the congressman said. “Twenty million dollars will allow them to do that.”
The funding will allow for a trained counselor to check in with a veteran every 90 days. The person conducting the call would determine the emotional, psychological, medical and career needs and concerns of the veteran.
“I think this money will save lives,” Holt said .
Greg Bean noted the roller-coaster of highs and lows during the quest to make certain services are available to soldiers with the Individual Ready Reserve, to which Coleman belonged, and to Individual Augmentee soldiers.
“Representative Holt and many others kept coming back and refused to be discouraged,” Bean said.
He added that although the bill is no longer labeled with his son’s name, he and his family hope the services will prove to be helpful.
“The money for the program made it through the House of Representatives and this time we believe it will make it through the Senate as well,” Bean said. “Between this bill, the strides being made by the Vet2Vet program at UMDNJ (a toll-free confidential helpline), and increased efforts through the Veterans Administration itself, it seems that real progress is finally being made. There is still a lot to do, but these are large steps in the right direction.”