Noteboom The Law Firm

Mother of Soldier Who Committed Suicide Demands More Help

July 29, 2010 - Linda Bean testified in front of the house Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee as to her opinion of the poor job the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have done linking veterans suffering from combat-related issues with mental health counseling. According to Bean, if they had done their job, her son may still be alive. Bean's 25-year-old son, Coleman Bean, committed suicide in September, 2008.

Following testimony from the Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA highlighting the vast array of mental health services they offer, to include a suicide-prevention hotline, Bean shot right back. According to Bean these services are not only non-comprehensive enough, but they are not available to every veteran. Bean acknowledged the importance of the work the DoD and VA does, but at the same time dispelled the myth their programs cover every soldier.

Coleman Bean was Individual Ready Reserve, which means he was not an active duty soldier. Because he was not active duty, his access to the mental health programs offered by the Pentagon and the VA was limited, at best. Although he made attempts to get treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), his duty status continually caused his appointments to be postponed.  

Bean feels the VA's job was to refer Coleman to a non-VA treatment site for help when they could not help him and in this they failed. While the rates of civilian suicides have held steady for 30 years, the rates of veterans committing suicide have radically increased. Bean noted the responsible thing for the DoD and the VA would be to build better working relationships with community mental health centers and use those centers as referrals when necessary.

The House recently passed a bill named for Coleman Bean, which extended mental health treatment to IRR members and those soldiers designated as Individual Mobilization Augmentees. This bill is currently stalled out in the Senate. At least once every three months counselors must now contact reservist soldiers. If the counselors determine the soldier they contact is suicidal, they must refer them out for help.