Families of soldiers who died by suicide hold signs in support of their loved ones during the Veterans Day Parade on November 11, 2021 in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt and Getty Images.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

Lawmakers quietly included $1 million each year to address veteran suicide prevention efforts in the new state budget — a tiny portion of state spending that could provide much-needed help as thousands of veterans die across the country each year at higher rates than their civilian peers.

Even as deaths remain stubbornly high after decades of effort, discussions about suicide and mental health overall still have a stigma in the military, said Matt Hall, the program lead for veteran resources group Indy Warrior Partnership.

“I’ve served almost 30 years in the Army and even I find it difficult to adhere to my own guidance and talk about it,” Hall said. “We get put in certain situations that are difficult and complaining or looking for help… only heaps it onto somebody else and makes their burden twice as much.”

Hall said military resilience classes now encourage creating a small network of friends to call in times of crisis, and is “lightyears” ahead from when he started. But some training still emphasizes the importance of carrying your own load and continuing without complaint.

“That’s great when you’re carrying a rucksack over 25 miles. However, when you’re having suicidal ideations, it’s not a great idea,” Hall said.

Taking on the ‘Governor’s Challenge’
Funding will also go to local organizations – like Hall’s Indy Warrior Partnership – through another $1 million line item for veterans services. Previously, suicide prevention wasn’t among the services covered by the grant, something the General Assembly amended in House Bill 1056.

These organizations are already working to decrease Indiana veteran suicide rates while compiling data. Currently, the state agency relies on two year old data, undermining its effort to meet the nationwide “Governor’s Challenge.”

The Governor’s Challenge – shorthand for the Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenges to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families – embodies a partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Holcomb, a Navy veteran, signed on in September 2020, kickstarting a planning process that now moves into the second, implementation phase, as outlined by SAMHSA. Accomplishments for the challenge include: reducing suicide among service members, veterans and their families; increasing access to services and support; expanding state capacity; identifying critical data; and more.

The VA’s National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report runs two years behind, meaning the 2022 edition details what veteran suicide looked like when Holcomb signed his proclamation in 2020.

In Indiana, 150 veterans died in 2020 by suicide, for a rate of 36.5 deaths per 100,000 veterans – higher than the national rate.

But the state’s youngest veterans, those between 18 and 34, had a suicide rate significantly higher than the national average for the same age range in 2020 – 73 Hoosier deaths per 100,000 veterans vs 46.1 national deaths per 100,000 veterans.

“As we work with the Governor’s Challenge, one of the key parts is going to be identifying the metrics that we want to impact,” Wimer said. “It’s hard to wait for two years to get a number that you’re going up or down and then be reactive to that.”

Interventions range from storage locks to 988
But the challenge includes a third priority – increasing lethal means safety and safety planning – that Hall said is sometimes misunderstood, even though it impacts the vast majority of veteran suicides.

Firearm-related veteran suicide rates grew by 45% between 2001 and 2020, peaking in 2018, according to the national report. While firearms are used in just over half, 53.2%, of non-veteran suicides in 2020, firearms are used in 71% of veteran deaths by suicide.

In Indiana, the rates are slightly higher with 60% of all suicides involving a firearm, increasing to 74% for veteran suicides in 2020 – according to the VA’s data.

To reduce that number, veterans across the country can get firearm storage locks for free, introducing a barrier that could save a veteran’s life.

“Then, if you have an issue or you’re having (suicidal) ideations, you can just give keys instead of having to give away a $1,000 gun,” Hall said. “We’re finding that if it is locked, that the time it creates for a veteran to go and find the key, go and take the lock off and then load the gun creates that time for the veteran to calm down and possibly change their mind.”The additional budget monies could be used to promote the program, Hall observed, and combat the idea that someone wants to “take their guns.”

One of the key resources offered, no matter where a veteran lives, is the opportunity to connect with other veterans. Among veterans, Hall said ‘they just don’t know’ is a common refrain when describing interactions with civilians.

“They just don’t know what happened over there; they just don’t know the things that we’ve dealt with,” Hall said. “It’s hard to explain to people (who) were not there in the moment – I did the best with what I had.”

Hall said that Indy Warrior Partnership could serve veterans across the state but Wimer suggested an additional, localized resource: county veteran’s services officers.

Every county had one, Wimer said, though some counties might share resources or have someone physically available only a few days a week. Larger counties may have multiple officers, as listed on the department’s website.

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