Senator Murray Presses VA Officials About Mental Health Care Wait Times, Outreach to Veterans Experiencing Homelessness at Veterans Committee Hearing on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Hearing
"The fact that nearly a third of women veterans experience sexual assault or harassment while serving our country in uniform is really staggering. And unsurprisingly, we know that military sexual trauma is a significant cause of mental health issues for these women. In fact, women who are survivors of military sexual trauma are nine times more likely to develop PTSD than other women veterans.
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What steps is VA taking to make sure that all VA facilities, including Puget Sound VA, have enough resources to assist and reach out to survivors of military sexual trauma?
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There are about 33,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S., 1,500 of them in my state. Veterans who have experienced homelessness are nearly four times more likely than other veterans to attempt suicide--and I know VA has made progress in reducing the number of veterans who lack housing, but we also need to make sure that we are utilizing our knowledge of risk factors and engaging with these veterans to help prevent them from experiencing homelessness in the first place. What is the VA doing right now to reach out to veterans who are experiencing homelessness and provide them with the mental health services that they need?
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So, it is really concerning to see on the VA's website that the wait time for a mental health appointment at the Puget Sound VA Medical Center is over a month long. I have personally had veterans tell me that they've had to wait as long as 3 months just to get an appointment in their community.
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I know it's challenging, I know it's complicated, but what is the VA doing to ensure that veterans who are experiencing a mental health crisis access the care they need, when they need it?
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Okay, but it's not happening--so what do we do?"
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