Arizona military families struggling after veteran suicides

Arizona veteran suicides a tragic cost of broken VA system
AZ Central
Dennis Wagner
August 24, 2014

K.J. Yett, 10, holds a photograph of himself when he was two with his father, Robert Yett at his home in Cottonwood on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. After serving with the U.S. Navy during several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Robert Yett committed suicide in November of 2010. He was trying to seek treatment for his post traumatic stress disorder from the VA.
(Photo: David Wallace/The Republic)

David Klein leaned forward, scrunching his face in deliberation.

A journalist had just asked whether, as a ­Department of Veterans Affairs suicide- ­prevention coordinator for seven years, he was able to meet the needs of Arizona veterans.

Charts and spreadsheets were piled in front of him on a table at the Phoenix VA's mental-health clinic, filled with data on suicides.

Klein paused before answering in a hushed voice: "Ummm, no. I wish I would have had a lot more people."

During the 2013 budget year, 226 Arizona veterans took their own lives, according to state records. More than 2,000 vets from metro Phoenix dialed the VA's central crisis line; 61 were "rescued" after they threatened to kill themselves. It was the second-highest number nationwide.

Victoria Yett, 39, is seen with her four sons (from left) Zach, 19; K.J., 10; Kyal, 17; and Zane, 14; all holding a photograph of their father, Robert Yett, and other military items associated with him at their home in Cottonwood on Aug. 12, 2014. After serving with the U.S. Navy during several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Robert Yett committed suicide in November 2010. He was trying to seek treatment for his post traumatic stress disorder from the VA. (Photo: David Wallace/The Republic)

Amid the national outcry over VA health care — a controversy that first exploded in Phoenix — failures in the mental-health treatment system have been heavily criticized. According to VA calculations, 22 U.S. veterans kill themselves each day, using guns, blades, drugs and other means.
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Victoria Yett discusses the details of the suicide of her husband, Robert Yett, of the U.S. Navy, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he waited for his appointment for PTSD with the Phoenix VA. David Wallace/The Republic

"The deficiencies aren't new: In 2005, the VA told Congress it was building an electronic tracking system to monitor suicides. Nine years later, systemic shortcomings remain difficult to identify because VA officials are unable or unwilling to provide significant data to lawmakers, veterans' groups or the media."