WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during Suicide Prevention Month, U.S. Senator Angus King, discussed the importance of providing resources and support for veterans going through mental health challenges. In a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, King questioned Dr. Matthew Miller, the Executive Director for Suicide Prevention with the Veterans Health Administration through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Gilly Cantor, the Director of Evaluation and Capacity Building at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, about what the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can do to treat mental health challenges and prevent veteran suicide. He also discussed the importance of staffing up VA facilities to better treat our veterans going through these challenging times.

Many of these issues were raised in King’s two-day tour of Maine’s VA facilities in August with VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

Senate King began his questioning by asking about how financial strain is a big contributor of suicide ideation among the veteran community.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Miller, nice to see you in person we talked last week. One of the main issues that seems to be motivating suicides is financial and financial distress. And I think the data is four times – veterans with incomes below $50,000, who have financial problems are four times as likely to have ideation of suicide. What about a pilot in the helpline of the crisis line of having some financial expertise that could be referred? Are you having a financial problem? Here's somebody you can talk to. Is that something we could work on,” asked Senator King.

“Yes is the short answer what you're getting at though sir is an important point in terms of instead of having maybe the referral from the Veterans Crisis Line – go to mental health – maybe it would be more appropriate for it to go to a financial counselor, in which case, then there's a ripple effect in capacity with mental health you save by putting people in the right place at the right time,” responded Dr. Miller.

“So, is this something that you don't need legislation? Is it something you could you could pilot for? In one vision, for example,” said Senator King.

“Yes, what we can pilot is we're starting a new Veteran Center for Financial Empowerment, that center will offer through VBA and services that are available with VBA referral to free consultation for financial issues. That'll allow us to get some initial data on demand and need and be able to report that back to you for next steps,” replied Dr. Miller.

“I'd appreciate it. I think that's an important step. Let's see what the data shows us because it does appear to be one of the one of the causal causation factors,” Senator King concluded.

Senator King then questioned Ms. Cantor on what the VA can do to address the workforce shortage for healthcare professionals.

“I can tell you from the point of view of what I hear from my veterans in Maine, they really like the care that they're getting from the VA. They are impressed by the personal qualities of the people that they meet with and they get great care. Now, one of the issues is access. The question is, when do you get the care? And that's a larger issue. We've got an enormous shortage in this country of mental health professionals. In fact, we've got an enormous shortage of just about everything,” Senator King began.

“One of our major hospitals just told me recently they're short 800 nurses. I mean, that's what we're up against. So, I think we need to understand that it's not for lack of trying that the VA is short staffed. This is a nationwide problem in and around the VA, but just generally. So, the question is, I think, what tools can we provide to the VA that they can more effectively compete in the workforce market? And I don't expect you to answer that. But if you have any thoughts, Ms. Cantor,” Senator King continued.

“I mean, that's a great idea. That's a great idea, Senator, I think one of the things that this is not necessarily helping with mental health specifically, but it's a model that could be applied. There's a great program out of New York City, called ‘PROVE’ that is a peer to peer model. And they train their social workers and their social work program to work with veterans. And in addition to helping a peer to peer model, which again, can be upstream from other challenges and help people feel connected on campuses, it is training a new workforce of culturally competent social workers. And I think that models like that could be applied outside of the social workspace. It's something that could be done,” replied Ms. Cantor.

“I don't know the number, but it's my understanding that a huge percentage of physicians are partially trained at the VA because of the high-quality care and program and education that can be offered there. It's surprising to me that it's not a more competitive place to work that people would be interested in working,” continued Ms. Cantor.”

“Well, I do think this is something we need to think about it. If this is a competitive marketplace, we're going to have to – for example, I learned recently, no one in the federal government is allowed to be paid more than the president. That's $400,000 a year. Try hiring a cardiologist for $400,000. I mean, that's the kind of thing that we need to discuss. We need to talk about waivers and to be sure that we have access to the professionals that we need,” concluded Senator King.

Representing a state with one of the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King has been a stalwart champion for veterans and servicemembers in Maine and across the country. A member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, he is committed to ensuring veterans and their families receive their earned benefits and support from the VA. He recently spearheaded the passage of legislation to better track and study servicemember suicides by job assignment. Senator King has also worked to properly honor and recognize the sacrifices of Purple Heart medal recipients, protect veterans from fraud, and expand veteran assisted living services. In a recent hearing, Senator King also urged VA officials to work with Congress to alleviate the challenges through the removal of salary caps and the creation of incentivized benefits.

To watch or download the exchange click here.

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