On June 17, 2020, President Trump released the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS). This landmark nationwide plan engages Americans in a nationwide effort to prevent suicide, connect Veterans and others at risk to federal and local resources, and facilitate coordinated research on suicide prevention.

“My administration is taking steps to ensure that the men and women who bravely fought for us when they were called will be given the care and attention they need during some of their darkest hours,” said President Donald J. Trump.

The roadmap is the result of an Executive Order that President Trump signed on March 5, 2019. It calls for several steps to advance this critical national goal, many of which are already underway:

National Suicide Prevention Activation Campaign

This summer, the PREVENTS Office will launch a nationwide public health campaign aimed at educating Americans that suicide is preventable. It creates awareness of mental health and suicide prevention best practices with a call to action for ALL Americans to take the PREVENTS Pledge to Prevent Suicide.

Improving Suicide Prevention Research

Too often, we focus on a one-size-fits-all approach to suicide prevention that fails to take into account an individual’s specific risk factors. As a key element of the roadmap, PREVENTS will launch the National Research Strategy to accelerate the development and implementation of effective solutions to help prevent suicide among Veterans and all Americans.

Building Partnerships

The PREVENTS Office has built relationships with dozens of organizations across the country. These include Veteran and military service organizations, faith-based groups, universities, non-profits, corporations, small businesses. It also includes state and local governments to share best practices for promoting mental health, to ensure awareness of and access to federal, state, local and tribal resources.

“The release of the PREVENTS Roadmap is a critical step in advancing the national priority of preventing suicide in this nation, but it is only a first step” said PREVENTS Executive Director Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen. “With our Veterans leading the way, we will engage all Americans as we fully implement the PREVENTS Roadmap. Together we will prevent suicide.”

For more on PREVENTS, please visit: https://www.va.gov/prevents/.

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11 Comments

  1. Andy Hou July 6, 2020 at 01:30

    It is well passed time to take action.
    By the way, does his plan consist of the Russians putting a bounty on our heads?

  2. Juan Force July 5, 2020 at 09:29

    For him, I think the initial step would be leaving office.

  3. Steve Eckert July 2, 2020 at 18:36

    Many times the trauma is so intense that a permanent change takes place deep within the brain. No one knows how to heal it.
    I spent many years researching ptsd, I can see it in other vets but even they won’t acknowledge it.
    Finding a authentic spiritual teacher has helped but even with that ‘ending it all’ surfaces at least once a week .
    It is still strange the person that went to Vietnam never returned…I still don’t know who I am..at 72 years? Just day by day.

    • Ronald A Finstuen July 8, 2020 at 10:07

      Hello Mr. Eckert,
      Second generation U.S. Navy Veteran here after my father who served 24 years including Vietnam. Three days before my father passed, I was able to lead him to a peace beyond all understanding. He had great joy the week we had together. Mr. Eckert, the deep trauma in the brain that many Vietnam Veterans have, I believe, is due to disorder of what is honorable and right. Being trained as a soldier to be In Order and to serve what is noble and right is in conflict when leaders place soldiers in disorder/unrighteousness. I believe men, especially young men, need to deeply know that what they are training to fight for is honorable. Doing an act that is against a person’s moral conscience can cause him to bury it deep. Speaking to many WW2 Veterans and Vietnam Veterans, I see differences in how they saw the battles they were in.
      Mr. Eckert, I dearly hope you find for your mind the peace you are deeply searching for. I did and my father did.

  4. Henry Rucker July 2, 2020 at 13:32

    Oh how I would love to poke the bear, but the bear pokes back. As a 62 year old veteran with grand maul seizures being treated by the V.A. with Tylenol and BenGay, all I will say is thank God for DNR!! If the V.A. can’t figure out why, they should quit asking!! “I sprained my ankle running PT today. Put on clean socks, take a Motrin and get to formation!”

  5. Ottis M. Cercy July 2, 2020 at 08:00

    Sounds great but things aren’t being done locally. My son in law is a Irag veteran and has ptsd and Tbilisi. A month ago he took 100 pills and tried to kill himself. He told my daughter yesterday he still thinks about doing it. He needs to be placed in reidsential therapy but all the psychiatrist is done is give him more medicine and sent him home. They said he needed to be placed in residential therapy when at the hospital but now they say they are doing all they can. My daughter is seven months pregnant and the only one working while she is trying to find someone to help. Creating programs makes for could press but veterans at home aren’t being taken care of! I’m a veteran and proud of how the va has taken care of me.

    • April Espinoza July 2, 2020 at 10:00

      Sir I can only offer what has help my family through the loss of my brother-n-law to suicide. He was a retired Army LTC he committed suicide. The organization that my husband ( he and I are also Army Vets) contacted to help our family is https://www.taps.org/
      They are a great resource. Praying for your family.

  6. Steven July 1, 2020 at 20:29

    Does his plan consist of the Russians putting a bounty on our heads?

  7. William T. Dodge June 30, 2020 at 08:12

    22 a Day. It is well passed time to take action.
    Glad the President has put forth effort to assist in this situation. SEMPER FORTIS/ SEMPER FI.

  8. SW June 29, 2020 at 18:48

    The first step should be him leaving office.

    • Bill R July 2, 2020 at 10:28

      AMEN!

Comments are closed.

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