veteran suicide

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The transition to civilian life has left many young veterans desperate as suicide rates among veterans are much higher than that of the civilian population. In fact according to (Basu, 2013), “the annual suicide rate among veterans is about 30 for every 100,000 of the population, compared with the civilian rate of 14 per 100,000. The analysis of records from 48 states found that the suicide rate for veterans increased an average of 2.6% a year from 2005 to 2011 -- more than double the rate of increase for civilian suicide.” As these brave men and women have given so much to protect this country it is important to look at why suicide rates among veterans are so high and propose a possible solution to this horrible problem.

There are many problems facing veterans that most civilians do not have to worry about. Perhaps the most serious issue facing many veterans is the post-traumatic stress that can haunt a soldier that has experienced the fear of being deployed to a combat zone. This is an issue that most individuals never have to worry about and having these post-traumatic experiences make most veterans more susceptible to substance abuse. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs website (ptsd.va.gov), “Almost one out of every 3 Veterans seeking treatment for SUD (substance abuse disorder) also has PTSD”. This is a startling number when you think about the high number of veterans that have been to war and have some level of post-traumatic stress. Also, we have learned from past conflicts that substance abuse and PTSD have been linked to an increase in suicidal behavior. In fact (Veteran Affairs, 2005) found that, “Veterans over the age of 65 with PTSD are at increased risk for attempted suicide if they also experie...

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...articipate in the ACAP program to utilize the employment transition program a drop in unemployment will occur as well as drop in veteran suicide rates.

The suicide rates among young veterans are at outrageous levels. With PTSD, drug abuse, and unemployment the main reasons that these young heroes our taking their own lives. To lower these numbers and help veterans adjust to civilian life the Department of Veteran Affairs will establish a peer support program and an employment transition program to assist these veterans into civilian life. The Department of Veteran Affairs will utilize social workers to ensure that veterans are able to receive the benefit of these programs and will monitor the success rate of these programs to ensure they are a successful. With these changes we can help assist Veterans into civilian life and help minimize veteran’s suicides.

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