Frankfort update: Resources are available to help vets with PTSD
By Sen. Jimmy Higdon
14th District State Senator
SEN. JIMMY HIGDON
Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, 2 a.m. — Rarely a week passes that I don’t receive a call or an e-mail from a constituent looking for contact information on a wide range of issues, including the critically important hotline to help prevent suicide among our veterans.
This past spring, we heard the alarming report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that 22 U.S. veterans take their lives each day. Recently, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) – the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization serving veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan – surveyed its members and found 45% of the 4,000 respondents know an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who has attempted suicide. We also know that 20% of those veterans are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It’s tragic so many of our veterans are struggling daily with mental health challenges. Fortunately, there is a resource that is readily available.
The Veterans Crisis Hotline is free and can provide immediate help to veterans, their family members, friends and co-workers. If you suspect a veteran might be in need of help, I urge you to call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1); send a text to 838255; or use the confidential online chat is at www.veteranscrisisline.net.
Please continue to write or call me with other information you might need or questions you might have. My number in Frankfort is 1-800-372-7181, and my home is 270-692-6945. I will continue to keep you updated on what’s happening in Frankfort.
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Note: Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon) represents the 14th District including Marion, Mercer, Nelson, Taylor, and Washington counties. He is the Chairman of both the Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation; the Vice Chair of both the Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee and the Transportation Committee, and a member of the 2012 SS HB 1 Implementation and Oversight Committee; the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government, Finance, and Public Protection; the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee; the Education Committee; the Health and Welfare Committee; the Program Review and Investigations Committee; and the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee.
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