Suicide Prevention Month
Floor Speech
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Ms. DUCKWORTH. I thank the gen tle lady from Arizona for bringing us together on this incredibly important issue.
Mr. Speaker, our veterans, throughout their military careers, are taught to be physically tough and mentally strong; and just because they suffer from post-traumatic stress, it does not negate that. They deserve every opportunity to achieve the same American Dream that they defended for the rest of us. Yet, unfortunately, too many of our veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress or from other mental injuries resulting from their service.
Post-traumatic stress and mental injuries are not always the result of combat; they can also include such trauma as that of sexual assault. Regardless of how the trauma is suffered, we still must take care of our veterans. We cannot allow these injuries to prevent them from living the lives that they deserve; and in some cases, these injuries have led these brave men and women to take their own lives. It has been almost 8 years since my own injury; and in that time, if the 22-suicides-a-day rate is to be counted, there have been at least 24,000 veteran suicides. This is simply unacceptable.
When I was director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, one of the very first things that I did was to create a 24/7 hotline for mental health available for vets. We have one now across the Nation, and that telephone number is 1 (888) 273-TALK. Please put that on your refrigerator doors. You never know when that number could save a life. We started that hotline because caring for our veterans and their mental well-being is not a secondary priority; it is a mission that we must pursue each and every day.
We cannot rest until we end veterans suicide in our Nation. We need to care for these warriors' invisible wounds with as much dedication and as many resources as we do their other combat injuries. Yet, because they are invisible, we often overlook these wounds.
I am asking all levels of government, business and ordinary citizens to make preventing veteran suicides our mission. We must come together and reduce the stigma of post-traumatic stress. We must provide the funding and the support that our heroes need. They fought for us. Now it is time for us to fight for them.
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