Urge your Senator to support S.711, the “Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009” Background The mental health needs of the 1.64 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to make headlines. Over 18 percent of troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, nearly 300,000 troops, have symptoms of post traumatic stress or major depression. Another 19 percent have experienced a possible traumatic brain injury. Further, only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year. The suicide rate among our military is at its highest point in 26 years and our male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than civilians. Additionally, the stigma that has long been present in the military creates a situation where mental health needs are not adequately tended to by professionals. Senator Max Baucus recently introduced S. 711 to implement a mental health screening program throughout the military. This legislation is based on the premiere program in the country for caring for Montana National Guard members suffering from PTSD, which was extraordinarily successful. S. 711 will require mental health screenings before deployment, upon return home, and every six months for two years. This basic and effective program will help safeguard the mental health of our entire military. Action Requested Please contact your Senator and ask him or her to support this critical legislation. If your Senator is already a cosponsor of S. 711, you can send him or her a thank you note.
Support the Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009!
This entry was posted in Combat Stress, Combat trauma, Dept of Veteran Affairs, Overcoming Combat Trauma, Preventing Combat Suicide, PTSD, Suicide Prevention, Veterans issues and tagged benefiting veterans, depression, likely to commit suicide, New Senate Bill, Post Deployments Health Assessment Act, Preventing Combat Suicide, PTSD, S.711, troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bookmark the permalink.
