Last month VA Secretary David A. Shulkin announced that the
VA has resolved the problems with the Veterans Crisis Line. The opening of the
new Veterans Crisis Line center in Atlanta on December 20, 2016 has made it
possible for the Veterans Crisis Line to increase its capacity by almost 600
veterans each day, practically doubling its ability to help veterans and their
family members in crisis.
Having this second Veterans Crisis Line facility up and
running has enabled the VA to not only help more veterans but to do so more
efficiently. Before the Atlanta facility opened, the call rollover rate was frequently
more than 30%. As of March 21, 2017, the call rollover rate has been reduced to
less than 1%. This means that more than 99% of Veterans Crisis Line calls are
promptly answered by Veterans Crisis Line responders.
The Veterans Crisis Line is a valuable and effective resource
for those who are struggling and is available 24 hours a day. You do not need to be enrolled in VA Health
Care to receive help. If you are a veteran in crisis or know someone who is, please
call 1-800-273-8255 and then press 1, text 838255, or go to www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat to chat online.
The Veterans Center Combat Call Centers are also available 24/7
to combat veterans or service members serving in a combat area. These call
centers are staffed by other combat veterans. Call 1-877-WAR-VETS (927-8387).
In addition to the improvements to the Veterans Crisis Line,
the REACH VET pilot program started last fall has now been extended and is
available VA wide. REACH VET is a program that looks at veterans’ health
records to help identify veterans who might be at an increased risk for
suicide. If a veteran is identified as being at risk, VA health care providers
then reach out to them to evaluate what types of care might be helpful. Early
intervention has been shown to help prevent issues from reaching crisis mode,
reduce stress for at-risk veterans and their families, and result in better
outcomes. Hopefully we’ll see great results now that REACH VET is available VA
wide.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out—help IS available.
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