Suicide A Major Problem For Military And Veterans
CUOMO: You know, we say we support the troops all the time. But do we? The men and women who protect and defend this nation, they're taking their lives at record numbers. 321 active duty members of the Military died by suicide in the year 2018. It ties the worst year since the Armed Forces started keeping close track of this. 20 vets, every day, take their own lives. It's a number that's been pretty consistent for about a decade. Matt Miller is with us tonight. He is the Director of the VA's Veterans and Military Crisis Line. Hey, we appreciate you being here, and thank you for the job that you do.</s>MATT MILLER, DIRECTOR, VETERANS CRISIS LINE: Thank you, Chris. It's a pleasure to be here with you. And thank you for giving the VA an opportunity to join in this important discussion.</s>CUOMO: We have our best on it. I am joined here with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and I need him, to make sure we're asking the right questions to get as much information and perspective out from someone who knows. So, let me bring him into the conversation. What do we need to know to start of?</s>GUPTA: Well, you - you know, it's interesting, Chris, and Matt - Matt obviously knows this. But historically, you know, we think of veterans as having much higher suicide rates, which they do, but that historically hasn't been the case. I mean, in the past, this has actually been lower than the general population. I think the question people always hear this number 20, 22 people dying, by their own hand every day, veterans, the big question, Matt, I mean, you know, why is that happening, why does it continue to happen over a decade now? Do we have any insights into what's going on and how to maybe curb those numbers a bit?</s>MILLER: Why is the question to obviously start with. It's the question that's on all of our minds, and it's the question that comes to mind, I think, first, when we experience this. It's the question that came to my mind first when a friend and colleague, United States Marines, died by suicide when we were stationed together back in 2004 and 2005. It's a complex answer. It's a very individually-based answer. It's a combination of - and a complicated combination of risk factors and protective factors. Veterans are extremely resilient, as a group, and as a population. Veterans also face unique challenges and unique risk factors within the suicide and suicide prevention fight. And--</s>CUOMO: Well there is also unique resistance, is there not, Matt? I mean one of the things that we've learned is that in the community, even when it was started off with PTSD, right, we've dropped the D, because of the stigma of the word disorder. But there are many men and women in your community where they don't want to admit this because they see it as weakness. They are warriors, and this is weakness. Now, of course, that's not true. But how do you combat that?</s>MILLER: I think veterans are - I - I have a little different perspective on that as a--</s>CUOMO: Please.</s>MILLER: --veteran as well, I think that there are very real questions and issues that veterans may face in terms of pursuing treatment or seeking assistance. But I would also pose that veterans are uniquely trained and have uniquely learned when to charge, and - and go forward, and go it alone, if need be, versus when to call in for help. I think that some of the challenges that we're working hard within the VA to address are converting some of the things that you've talked about with other guests already, which is converting this awareness into increased help-seeking. How to seek help? How to get the help? What does help look like? When do I need help, and educating veterans in that way, and that is going to be a broad community effort, including the VA, and beyond the</s>VA. GUPTA: Yes. I'm curious, you know. The - the resources available at the VA, I mean there's been studies shown that that veterans who interact with the VA get health services there are then less likely to die by suicide. And yet, you also hear in the news lately, I mean, headlines last few months, that there have been veterans who have taken their own lives right outside a VA hospital right - right - right at the entrance to VA hospital, for example. Well what's - what's going on there? Are there enough resources? Is there a concern about the mental health resources available at the VA for veterans?</s>MILLER: You raise several good points within that Dr. Gupta. One is the number 20. If we take a look a little more deeply at the 20 per day with veterans first, one is - is too many. Within that 20, 14 have not had care within the VA, six have. Veteran is veteran to us, however in the VA, and we are looking to design and implement suicide prevention programs and services that reach all veterans, the 14 and the six. Talking about the on-campus suicides, actually, on-campus rates on the VA are lower than on-campus rates at non-VA facilities. And on-campus suicides have decreased by 84 percent, the Joint Commission found from one year to the next recently, so good news overall. Nonetheless, as I said, and coming back to the main point, one is too many. Therefore, we are working on, and have developed a national suicide prevention plan and roadmap, and are working closely with communities through the Mayoral Challenge, the Governor's Challenge to combine resources across treatment and prevention.</s>CUOMO: We will put the information out. We appreciate the work that you are doing. And you raise a point that whether it's veterans or non-veterans, Matt, if you get treatment, your chances of survival just skyrocket, and we have to see it as a show of strength, not weakness.</s>MILLER: Yes.</s>CUOMO: Thank you so much, Matt Miller. God bless and good luck with the work going forward. So--</s>MILLER: Thank you.</s>CUOMO: --here's the number that we're showing. If you need it, use it. If you know someone who you think could benefit from it, reach out, 1- 800-273-TALK or 8255, gets you to the same place. Now, press one, if you're a veteran, when you're calling, then you'll be transferred to a VA staffer. We'll keep putting up the number. You know, it's going to be there. I'll tweet it out. It's there. If you need it, use it. Our next guest knows how to stop this tragic loss of life. Think about that. Something so pervasive in our society and it's not like cancer, where we haven't figured out exactly what - we have something here. She's the Lead Scientist of the Severity Rating Scale called The Columbia Protocol. This thing has dramatically helped lower suicide rates when it is implemented, even in the Military. What are the solutions? Next.