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August 07, 2008
Government says more than 22,000 veterans have sought help from suicide hot line
In continuing coverage from previous editions of Headlines, the AP (7/28, Euphrat) reports, "More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says."
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) "teamed up with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to launch the hot line last July after years of criticism that the VA wasn't doing enough to help wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan." To date, the VA "has spent $2.9 million on the hot line." The VA "hot line receives up to 250 calls per day."
According to Janet Kemp, national suicide prevention coordinator for the VA, "callers are divided evenly between veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars." The VA currently estimates that "6,500 veterans take their own lives" annually.
Related Links:
- "Suicide hot line got calls from 22,000 veterans," Katherine Euphrat, AP on Yahoo.Com, July 28, 2008.
Posted by admin at August 7, 2008 03:04 AM