Letter to Hon. Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Rep. Tracey Mann Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging VA to Expand Outreach to Post-9/11 Veterans

Letter

Dear Secretary McDonough:

Thank you for your work to support veterans experiencing distress related to the recent events in
Afghanistan. While the Department's efforts to raise awareness of resources and encourage
veterans to seek help are important steps, more must be done to reach those in need.
Accordingly, we urge the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to quickly develop a
comprehensive post-9/11 veteran outreach plan.

This plan must proactively contact veterans in the coming months through means including
digital correspondence, social media, phone calls, and text messages. VA's outreach should
consist of providing information on -- and warm handoffs to -- each veteran's local VA mental
health services, community support systems, and other resources. Such efforts could be
structured similarly to the Solid Start program, which has made great strides in proactively
connecting with veterans since its inception in 2019, but should not be limited to newly-separated servicemembers.

Even before these triggering events, data from 2019 showed that veterans between ages 18 and
34 die from suicide at much higher rates than veterans in other age groups. The ongoing media coverage and disturbing images coming out of Afghanistan are likely increasing these risks,
illustrating the urgency of personalized support for post-9/11 veterans. Even as public attention
on Afghanistan wanes, we must keep a laser focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of our
veterans.

Again, we ask you to promptly develop and implement a comprehensive outreach plan for our
post-9/11 veterans. We look forward to working with you to fulfill our obligation to care for
those who have borne the battle.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress