Missouri is investing in veterans' mental health as suicide rates increase

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KFVS) – On Veterans Day, we honor service members for their sacrifice, but we often forget the struggles they face when they return home.

Missouri’s veteran suicide rate is one of the highest in the nation. The hardships veterans face don’t end when they come home. Seven in every hundred veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and thousands of veterans die by suicide every year, according to the American newspaper The Guardian. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. However, the state is investing in resources to help veterans.

A wreath at the Memorial Student Union on the University of Missouri campus honors Missourians who served in the armed forces this Veterans Day. Event speaker Col. Lindsey Decker continues to serve in the Missouri Army National Guard.

“Service members have often stood guard over our freedoms at great personal cost,” Decker said. “They have left the comfort of their homes to face unknown dangers.”

This year the governor signed a new law that hopes to reduce the number of suicides among veterans. It adds improving veterans’ mental health as the Missouri Veterans Commission’s fourth core mission, opening the door to research and treatment. In addition to that bill, lawmakers also appropriated $120,000 in this year’s state budget to hire additional positions at the Veterans Commission focused solely on mental health.

“Programs that support veterans are very important,” Decker said. “Veterans have many different needs. So I’m very proud of our state for promoting veterans programs and providing for our veterans.”

In addition to state resources, veterans can also find mental health help in other places. The University of Missouri offers guidance to experienced students.

“Our mental health professionals who work here at our Student Mental Health Center undergo training and so-called partners in prevention to identify some of the different struggles that our service members may be going through,” said Keith Glindemann of the University Veterans Center of Missouri.