NJ mom of Iraq vet suicide victim joins Rep. Rush Holt to push prevention act
Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011
By JOAN GALLER
jgaller@trentonian
East Brunswick resident Linda Bean — the mother of an Iraq combat veteran who committed suicide after being denied treatment for post-traumatic stress — joined Rep. Rush Holt, D-12, to reintroduce legislation that provides “a safety net” for all who serve.
“In 2010, we lost more troops to suicide than to combat in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Bean said yesterday, standing beside Holt outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
“Deaths by suicide among members of National Guard and Reserve units rose from 80 in 2009 to 145 in 2010,” she added. “We don’t know how many members of the IRR fell to suicide; no branch of the service tracks those losses.”
The Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Reserve Component Suicide Prevention Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), would help close a critical gap in military suicide prevention efforts by requiring treatment, counseling and follow up services for members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), Inactive National Guard (ING), and Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs).
Bean, who served two tours in Iraq as a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and took his own life in 2008.
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Rush Holt to push prevention act
Thank you so much for posting this. Coleman was a friend of mine and his family are some of the kindest people anyone could ever meet.
ReplyDeleteHe must have been remarkable. I have been covering his story since his suicide. His parents have done a lot to make sure it doesn't happen to more families.
ReplyDelete