Florida Senate - 2022 SM By Senator Burgess 20-00472-22 2022302__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Senate Memorial A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 2 urging Congress to recognize the epidemic of suicide among veterans and to fully fund suicide prevention efforts of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 6

WHEREAS, according to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report published by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, there was an average of 17.6 veteran suicides per day in 2018, totaling 6,435 veteran suicides that year, and

WHEREAS, the department has found that veterans who die by suicide are more likely than the civilian population to have experienced sleep disorders, chronic pain, or traumatic brain injuries or to have received diagnoses of mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, substance use disorder, 18 schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, and

WHEREAS, some veterans have reported difficulty in transitioning to civilian employment, as their highly developed skills obtained during military service may not translate to higher level civilian jobs, and the resulting economic struggles, which may include unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, are shown to be risk factors for veteran suicide, 25 and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ 27 Veteran Crisis Line is the world’s largest provider of crisis call, text, and chat services for veterans, receiving Florida Senate - 2022 SM 302 20-00472-22 2022302__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. approximately 650,000 calls per year, and

WHEREAS, the department has made significant progress in the area of suicide prevention through clinical research, the development and testing of evidence-based psychotherapy methods and medications, and behavioral, complementary, and alternative approaches to treating veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions, and

WHEREAS, the department is partnered with hundreds of national and local organizations and corporations, including veterans service organizations, professional sports teams, and major employers, in order to raise awareness of its suicide prevention resources and to educate the public about supporting veterans and servicemembers in their communities, and

WHEREAS, although RAND Corporation studies have found that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs outperforms other systems in the area of mental health care, the rising trend in veteran suicides continues to plague the men and women who selflessly served in the United States Armed Forces and devastate their families, friends, and loved ones, NOW, 48 THEREFORE, 49