PORTLAND, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a panel featuring veterans’ healthcare experts and caregivers at the Portland Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The panel included: Russell Armstead, Assistant Medical Center Director at the VA Maine Healthcare System; Tracy Charette, Suicide Prevention Coordinator at Togus VA Medical Center; David Richmond, Interim Director at Bureau of Veterans’ Services; Greg Marley, Clinical Director & Senior Trainer at Maine Chapter National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Shamera Simpson, Area Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; Suzanne Fox, Founder of The Yellow Tulip Project; and veterans Camden Ege and Jeremy Kendall. The discussion highlighted common suicide risk factors and warning signs for suicide, provided information about VA mental health and suicide prevention resources, and emphasized the importance of starting the conversation around veteran mental health.

“Our veterans have made immense sacrifices on behalf of our national security, and we have a national responsibility to care for them – both physically and mentally,” said Senator King. “Unfortunately, far too many of our veterans still carry the weight of their service, and feel like they cannot access the help they need. That needs to change, and one of the ways to bring about that change is through a dialogue, speaking directly to veterans to tell them that we are here to help. I’m grateful for the insight of today’s excellent panel, and for their dedication to supporting the mental health of our veterans.”

Senator King has been a strong advocate for veterans issues since arriving in Washington. Earlier this week, he applauded the House and Senate’s passage of the MilCon-VA Conference Report, which aims to consolidate and improve VA community care programs, as well as improve VA’s ability to hire high-quality healthcare professionals, expand VA caregiver benefits to veterans of all eras and establish a process to evaluate and reform VA’s existing facilities to best serve veterans. In June, his bill to strengthen accountability of senior executives at the VA was signed into law. In May, he held a listening session with Maine veterans on the qualities and values they are looking for in a new VA Secretary, and in April Senator King visited the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat in Rome, which brings injured veterans and their families to Maine in order to help the veterans overcome physical obstacles with the support of family members. The Senator also highlighted the important place of veterans in Maine by devoting his November and December podcasts to the subject, with Travis Mills as one of the guests on the latter show. In December, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it will fund three new positions in Maine to better serve justice-involved Maine veterans confronting homelessness, mental health or substance abuse issues – a move which follows a February letter from Senator King to the VA urging additional resources on the topic. Senator King was a cosponsor of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, which passed the Senate in June 2017 and has since been signed into law.