In the first year of operation, the veterans' suicide hotline received a total of 55,000 calls from returning soldiers or their relatives. Rep. Harry Mitchell (AR) said the 22,000 calls from vets alone indicated the Veterans' Admnistreation had to do more yet to meet the crisis in mental health which has resulted in a jump in suicide. It's been estimated that one in five vets are returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with PTSD, and the hotline was installed last year after negative publicity about the shortages of mental health services. Officials credit the hot line with preventing 1,200 suicides.
Posted on: July 29, 2008
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Topics: depression, military, PTSD, suicide, Veterans Affairs
Topics: depression, military, PTSD, suicide, Veterans Affairs
