Resources for Military Mental Health and Suicide Issues
I don’t need to tell anyone how serious the current military mental health situation is. Instead, I’d like to offer resources for military personnel and their families.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a number for veterans in an emotional emergency. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and press 1. PLEASE call if you’re a veteran and you need help NOW. Their site, suicidepreventionlifeline.org, also has information on mental health resources for veterans.
The U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System’s site, health.mil, offers information on military mental health, and on suicide prevention resources. (The site may take a few minutes to fully load.)
The Air Force Suicide Prevention Program was started in the mid-1990s, and helped reduce the number of active duty suicides in 1998 to thirty-four, the lowest in two decades at the time. Visit afspp.afms.mil. The official U.S. Air Force site, afcrossroads.com, has information on other issues as well, like on parenting.
The American Psychological Association site, apa.org, has wonderful resources for military personnel and their families. Suicide Prevention Action Network USA has a brochure on its site for military families. Visit spanusa.org to download this.
I can’t list every resource available, nor can I list them for every branch of the military. I do hope these are a starting point for military service members and their families. The military seems to be working to encourage members to seek mental health care, and I applaud this effort.
Please leave a comment if you know any other resources. My next series will be on a health issue that significantly affects military personnel, as well as civilians, Traumatic Brain Injury. I look forward to learning more about it, and sharing that with you.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Resources for Military Mental Health and Suicide Issues
