VETERAN NEEDS
Healthy veterans are...
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Disciplined
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Hard workers
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Good employees
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Respect authority
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Ready & resilient
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Good leaders & followers
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Serve others
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Good role models
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Possess valuable skills
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Understand racial equality
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Contribute to American greatness
But, many of our veterans are not healthy.
Tragic Outcomes
** Based on best available statistics
SUICIDE
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20+ veterans kill themselves every day in America – 7,300 in 2017 alone (National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, 2020).
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344 active-duty members took their lives in 2019, the highest number since 2001 when tracking began (DoD, CY2019 Annual Suicide Report).
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In 2019, 100 USAF Airmen have taken their lives (as of Sept. 21), a 62% increase over 2018 (Everstine, Air Force Magazine, 2019).
PTSD
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Up to 20% (about half-a-million) who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom & Enduring Freedom have PTSD (National Center for PTSD, 2019-2020).
MENTAL HEALTH
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More than 1.7 million Veterans received treatment in a VA mental health specialty program in fiscal year 2018 (VA Office of Research and Development, 2019).
HOMELESSNESS
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Over 37,000 veterans are homeless on any given night in 2019 (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Annual Homeless Assessment Report, 2019).
DIVORCE
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80% divorce rate for combat veteran families.
ADDICTION
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More than 20% of vets with PTSD also have a drug or alcohol addiction (National Center for PTSD, 2019-2020).
Struggle In Silence
Many veterans have seen things none of us ever want to see and often come home to find themselves in harm's way again fighting a new enemy.
The VA is working hard to improve the mental health service they provide, but more must be done.
We must eradicate the epidemic of veteran suicide.
Our country needs the National Center for Healthy Veterans to alleviate the behavioral and mental health challenges our veterans face. The NCHV is a comprehensive solution that leverages private sector resources, expertise and proven faith-based programs.