211 Spotlights Suicide Awareness and Prevention for US Veterans

211 Spotlights Suicide Awareness and Prevention for US Veterans
pagewoodward
TCPalm
Posted September 3, 2010
September 3, 2010-During the month of September, the mental health community is highlighting the need for National and Global Suicide Awareness and Prevention. In the US an average of 30,000 individuals commit suicide yearly. In fact one person dies from suicide every 16 minutes. Veterans make up 20% of the yearly deaths, at double the rates of other populations with an average of 18 suicides per day. This has many health and human service professionals alarmed.

It is estimated that there are nearly 2 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to date, most of whom have served multiple tours. This translates into more and more veterans who are returning with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and other mental health issues. Left untreated, these elevate the risk for suicide and if coupled with substance abuse, the proverbial “time bomb waiting to go off” theme comes into play.
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211 Spotlights Suicide Awareness and Prevention for US Veterans