The Vets4Warriors peer support line, 1-855-838-8255 (1-855-VET-TALK), provides easy access to supportive, non-attributional conversations with trained veteran peers representing all branches of the military. This team of veteran peers has immediate access to behavioral health clinicians to respond to potentially emergent issues and can offer referrals to local community services, military veteran centers, and military healthcare providers based upon the needs of the Service Member. A variety of services will be provided to include non-clinical (legal, financial) and referrals for clinical services (substance abuse, behavioral health).

This program is a component of a larger effort to promote individual resilience, risk reduction, and coping skills through peer support and referrals to community based services.  Peer counseling is an effective method to acculturate these self-development skills without the potential stigma that some Service Members may associate with help-seeking behavior.

The program also improves awareness and access to local resources that are relevant to the issues communicated by the Service Member while the utilization data can help share and refine current support programs.

  Vets4Warriors_Flyer.pdf (684.4 KiB, 18 hits)

Vets4Warriors Website:  http://www.vets4warriors.com/

NGB Article:  http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2011/12/121311-Vets.aspx

December 13, 2011 – American Forces Press Service

Nearly 29 percent of federal government hires in fiscal 2011 went to military veterans, marking a 20-year high, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry said today.

Berry released what he called preliminary numbers from fiscal 2011 following a meeting of the President’s Council on Veterans Employment, an Obama administration initiative he credited with the increases in veteran hiring.

“President Obama created the Veterans Employment Initiative to help employ our veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses – an integral part of keeping our sacred promise to America’s veterans. It’s working,” Berry said.

The council “pursued aggressive goals, and for our veterans, meeting those goals means jobs that serve the American people and help sustain the growth that supports the propriety and leadership in the world,” he said. “I’m proud of the council’s success in keeping these highly trained and experienced individuals working for our nation, particularly the over one million who served in Iraq.”

Of the 24 federal departments and agencies included in the initiative, 22 hired more veterans last year than in fiscal 2009, and 23 hired more disabled veterans than in 2009, Berry said.

Read the full article.

December 13, 2011 – American Forces Press Service

The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development today announced that a new national report shows that homelessness among veterans has been reduced by nearly 12 percent between January 2010 and January 2011.

The federal government has pledged to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said.

“This new report is good news for the tens of thousands of veterans we have helped find a home,” Shinseki said. “Our progress in the fight against homelessness has been significant, but our work is not complete until no veteran has to sleep on the street.”

According to the 2011 supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report released today, 67,495 veterans were homeless in the United States on a single night in January 2011 — a significant reduction from last year’s single-night count of 76,329. The complete 2011 Annual Homeless Assessment Report will be available in 2012.

Read the full article.

December 13, 2011 – Va.gov

The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development today announced that a new national report shows that homelessness among Veterans has been reduced by nearly 12 percent between January 2010 and January 2011. The 12 percent decline keeps the Obama Administration on track to meet the goal of ending Veteran homelessness in 2015. According to the 2011 supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), 67,495 Veterans were homeless in the United States on a single night in January 2011 — a significant reduction from last year’s single night count of 76,329.

VA also announced it will make $100 million in grants available to community agencies across the country to prevent nearly 42,000 Veterans and their families from falling into homelessness or to quickly return them to stable housing.

Read the full article.

December 6, 2011 – North County Times

More U.S. Marines have attempted to take their own lives this year than ever before, according to the service’s latest report from its suicide prevention program.

The report said that 176 Marines attempted suicide through November, more than double the 82 reported in 2002, the first year the Marine Corps began recording and reporting the statistics.

Officials say better reporting procedures and heightened awareness is largely responsible for the higher numbers. In 2010 there were 172 attempted suicides, up from 164 in 2009 and 146 in 2008.

The report also said three active-duty Marines committed suicide in November, raising the number of self-inflicted deaths for the year to 32.

Thirty-seven Marine suicides were reported in 2010 compared with a record 52 in 2009 and 42 in 2008.

Defense Department officials have struggled to prevent and reduce suicides among active-duty and reservists troops as well as veterans.

Last month, the Center for a New American Security in Washington, which analyzes Pentagon statistics, said service members or veterans were taking their own lives at a rate of one every 36 hours between 2005 and 2010.

Read the full article.