‘They are not alone’: How Pennsylvania is expanding mental health services for veterans

A $600,000 grant from the Biden administration could lead to fewer veteran suicides in Pennsylvania and a better understanding of the mental health challenges facing veterans, according to the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. 

The DMVA announced on Nov. 7 that the department had received the grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The funds will help the department create suicide mortality review programs in York County in south central Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County in southwest Pennsylvania. As part of the year-long pilot programs, the counties will form teams of mental health specialists, law enforcement and others who will review available data on deaths by suicide with the goal of developing recommendations for preventing such deaths in the future.

The counties’ teams will spend time with the families of veterans who died by suicide to learn more about the deceased individuals. Sarah Herr, an executive policy specialist at the DMVA, said that they hope the information will shed light on how to better connect veterans with mental health support services and prevent veteran suicides in those counties and statewide. 

“Did that person have any mental health issues? Were they trying to get a doctor appointment, maybe at the VA, and they were unable to, and, because of that, this is why it happened?” Herr said. “So we’re really trying to understand the root cause as to what went wrong, what are the gaps in the system?”

These efforts come as veterans die by suicide at a higher rate than nonveterans, according to the VA. The DMVA reported that military veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than those who never served in the military. For female veterans, the risk factor is 2.2 times more likely. The VA reported the same statistics. There are nearly 800,000 veterans living in Pennsylvania.

As part of the grant process, the DMVA will issue a report next September about its findings from the pilot programs and provide recommendations to the governor’s office and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Herr explained that, as a result of the programs and recommendations, there could potentially be additional funding for suicide prevention in the commonwealth and new state policy that would address veteran suicide. One such policy change that would be especially helpful, Herr said, would be for the state to compile more comprehensive data on veteran suicides.

Currently, there’s no statewide database of veteran suicide statistics, and the only way to determine how many veteran suicides there have been is to go to each coroner in the state’s 67 counties. A lack of statewide data makes it difficult for those attempting to address the problem to fully understand the issue and be able to treat it, Herr explained. 

The information gathered over the coming year could also help the state provide better suicide prevention training. Herr noted that other states fund suicide prevention training for people who work at animal shelters, for example, after discovering that people who are suicidal will often relinquish their pets at shelters.

The suicide mortality review programs are part of a larger effort in Pennsylvania and nationally to prevent veteran suicide. Since January 2020, the Pennsylvania DMVA has been a member of a national program called the Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenges to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans and their Families, an initiative run by the VA and the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Part of that national program is focused on conducting suicide prevention trainings and what are called “lethal means safety trainings” to ensure that veterans are safely storing firearms. 

“We give out thousands of gun locks on a yearly basis,” Herr said, adding that they will provide 500 free gun locks at the upcoming Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg in January.

Herr said that veterans often struggle because of exposure to trauma, difficulties transitioning to civilian life after deployment, physical injuries, and a lack of support networks, which can leave them feeling isolated.

“The combination of these factors make it essential to provide the support and mental health resources for veterans, ensuring that they have access to the help they need during these challenging times,” Herr said.

As for why women veterans are at a greater risk of dying by suicide than their male counterparts, Herr pointed to sexual assault as one possible reason. According to an August report published by Brown University’s Watson Institute, 24% of military members who are women reported having experienced sexual assault, compared to 1.9% of men. The report noted that women of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community experience the highest rates of sexual assault.

“We can’t say at this point definitively that MST, military sexual trauma, is the causing factor for women’s suicidality,” Herr said. “But we do notice it is a trend, and it is an issue, and it’s something that needs to be researched more.”

Throughout this work, Herr said, she and those involved want veterans to know there is help out there — and that help will hopefully become more accessible in the years to come. 

“Our biggest message is to let veterans know that they are not alone, that if you are struggling, that help is just a call away,” Herr said.

For veterans who may be at risk of suicide, the following resources are available: 

In a crisis, call the veterans crisis line at 988 and then press 1. 

The DMVA PA VetConnect can connect veterans to a variety of mental health resources: https://www.dmva.pa.gov/VetConnect/Pages/VetConnect.aspx

The federal VA provides specially trained suicide prevention coordinators at each VA medical center in the country. To find your nearest VA medical center, go to https://www.va.gov/find-locations/.

Additional resources can be found at https://www.dmva.pa.gov/Veterans/SpecialInitiatives/Pages/SuicidePrevention.aspx.

This story was originally posted by the Pennsylvania Independent.