NORFOLK, Va. — Preventing veteran suicides remains a top priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, according to an annual report released Thursday, the epidemic still poses a major challenge in the United States.
The VA's newest National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report is the largest national analysis of veteran suicides through 2021 (the most latest data available). The report revealed that 6,392 veterans died by suicide that year.
That's 114 more veterans than in 2020.
The unfortunate rise coincides with an increase in non-veteran deaths by suicide in 2021, which was 40,020 people; 2,000 more people than in 2020, according to the release accompanying the report.
The analysis pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a possible factor in the elevated number of suicides. It said in the first full calendar year of the pandemic, we experienced greater financial strain, housing instability, anxiety and depression levels and barriers to healthcare, which the VA said are all factors associated with increased risk of suicide for both veterans and non-veterans.
The rise also correlates with an increase in firearm availability in the same year, the release pointed out.
In response to the report, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) called the new data "troubling."
“Too many of our veterans are still suffering in silence and VA’s 2023 annual suicide prevention report, covering information from 2001 to 2021, reveals that our fight to end veteran suicide continues," Bost said.
Before 2021, the VA saw a decrease in veteran suicide for two years in a row. Moving forward, however, the department said it will continue to work "urgently" alongside the Biden-Harris Administration to save lives using a public health approach.
"...I know that it is a top priority of ours to continue breaking down the stigma that surrounds mental health, and expand access to assistance that works for every single veteran," Bost said. "Whether you’re dealing with financial hardship, substance abuse, PTSD, or anything else, the resources are there to get back on track and there is absolutely no shame in asking for a helping hand to get there."
Just this past Tuesday, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health sat down to discuss new, "ground-breaking" therapies for struggling veterans. In its first-ever oversight hearing, "Emerging Therapies: Breakthroughs in the Battle Against Suicide," the panel discussed psychedelic therapies to treat PTSD.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health crisis or have thoughts of self-harm, you can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.