Increase in suicide rate of veterans noted

They say they saved 6,000 but the successful suicides went up anyway? So who is asking what is being done that there was an increase in successful suicides as well as attempted ones they managed to "save" with suicide prevention?

It's not just that the suicide numbers have gone up that needs to be considered. It is also the unsuccessful ones that need to be addressed before they try again. How many times have you read about a veteran committing suicide only to find out from the family this was not their first try? What makes them try it in the first place? Until we know this, the numbers will keep going up. Given the fact most of them don't ever see a therapist to go with their bottles of medications, this is a part of it. What kind of follow ups do they receive after they seek help from suicide prevention? Are they sent to just stand in the ever increasing long line of others waiting to live? With the backlog of claims there is the issue of no income. Do they think this adds to a veteran wanting to die because they were wounded in combat and now can't support themselves of their families because of it? Do they think it adds to what they are dealing with when they end up regretting surviving?

Increase in suicide rate of veterans noted

By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 12, 2010 6:35:01 EST

WASHINGTON — The suicide rate among 18- to 29-year-old men who've left the military has gone up significantly, the government said Monday.

The rate for these veterans went up 26 percent from 2005 to 2007, according to preliminary data from the Veterans Affairs Department. VA officials said they assume that most of the veterans in this age group served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

If there is a bright spot in the data, it's that in 2007 veterans in the group who used VA health care were less likely to commit suicide than those who did not. That's a change from 2005.

In recent years, the VA has hired thousands of new mental health professionals and established a suicide hot line credited with "rescues" of nearly 6,000 veterans and military members in distress.

The military has also struggled with an increase in suicides, with the Army seeing a record number last year. While the military frequently releases such data, it has been more difficult to track suicide information on veterans once they've left active duty.

The VA calculated the numbers using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers from 16 states. In 2005, the rate per 100,000 veterans among men ages 18-29 was 44.99, compared with 56.77 in 2007, the VA said. It did not release data for other population groups.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/ap_vet_suicide_011110/