Noteboom The Law Firm

Veteran Suicides At Alarming Levels

April 28, 2010 - New data shows a very disturbing and worrying trend among veterans. On average, 950 veterans receiving treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) attempt suicide. Of the attempts, 7% are successful and for those that do not succeed, 11% attempt again within 9 months. The VA is working on escalating its suicide prevention programs but this data breaks down to almost 18 veteran suicides per day with 5 of them coming from veterans under care from the VA.

One critical factor in preventing these suicides is having access to care. Once a veteran comes under the care of the VA health care system, they are screened to detect problems. If it is believed the veteran is at high risk to commit suicide, the VA tracks them to make sure they are doing what they need to do to keep safe, e.g., keeping all scheduled appointments. 

Veterans between 18 and 29 years of age and under the care of the VA health care system have lower suicide rates than other groups not using VA care. It's possible, then, that VA treatment saves the lives of approximately 250 veterans a year.

Veterans returning from deployment from Iraq and Afghanistan are of particular concern. Up to September 30, 2009, 1,621 suicide attempts by male veterans resulted in 94 dead. 247 suicide attempts by female veterans resulted in 4 dead. Men are more likely than woman to complete their suicide attempts even though women attempt more than men. This discrepancy is partially due to the fact that men more often utilize more violent methods, like firearms. These trends apply across the boards, including suicide attempts by veterans.

The VA established a suicide hotline which receives almost 10,000 calls a month not only from veterans, but from active duty soldiers as well. Undoubtedly the suicide hotline has saved thousands of lives. Hopefully this new data will push the VA to strengthen their suicide prevention programs even more and in turn save more veterans' lives.