Vets Step Up To Prevent Suicide

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Vets Step Up To Prevent Suicide

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Veterans Administration said it is taking new steps to help men and women who can't leave the battles behind.

It's a direct response to the number of soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and the number of suicides among America's veterans.

Iowa native Joshua Omvig was a soldier who served many months in Iraq. The battle never ended when he came home, his family said, and the 22-year-old took his own life. Omvig's parents said that the transition from war zone to home was too much. He didn't have enough time to decompress, and they said he suffered in silence.

Omvig's parents later discovered he had post-traumatic stress disorder, which they believe triggered by what he saw and experienced daily while at war.

Doctors said that coming home doesn't automatically shut off the images for veterans.

"The sheer terror of dying in situations no one in their rational mind could begin to explain," said Col. Richard Harper (Ret.).

Harper said he understands the personal fight Omvig and other veterans go through. He said that he suffers from PTSD, and as a decorated career military man, it wasn't easy to ask for help. He said it was too hard to admit weakness until he was overcome by depression and could no longer function at work.

"Very difficult to accept, because it wasn't who I was. It wasn't what I'd achieved," Harper said.

Since October, the Nebraska-Western Iowa Veteran Health Care System has diagnosed close to 5,000 veterans with PTSD. About 450 of those served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Since January, there have been four veterans in the Nebraska VA system who committed suicide and eight have attempted to take their lives. Those are only the ones reported to the VA.

"It doesn't matter what the numbers are, even if we have one in a calendar year, that's one too many," said David Tuttle, a suicide prevention coordinator.

Now the local VA said it is doing a number of things to try and reach veterans who need help but may be afraid to ask. Last year, the VA established a suicide hot line. If a veteran calls in crisis, there's immediate help and follow-up care.

Four more outpatient clinics are also set to open in Holdrege, Norfolk, Bellevue and Shenandoah, Iowa.

There's also a VA team that goes into communities and evaluates veterans before they're deployed, again when they come home., and at three months, six months and nine months after their return.

Even so, doctors said that many veterans may not be willing to share what they're going through. That's where the families come in, as they are often the first to notice the signs. Harper said it was his wife that help him seek treatment. Experts said a few symptoms to look for include sleeplessness, irritability, withdrawal from loved ones or substance abuse.

The National Suicide prevention hot line is a toll-free number at 800-273-TALK.

Vets Step Up To Prevent Suicide - Health News Story - KETV Omaha