Panel studies ways to reduce suicide among state vets

More resources would help reduce the number of veterans who commit suicide, a panel of state lawmakers was told Thursday.

The Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee heard from experts during an interim study on the suicide rate among state veterans.

“It is an issue everyone can get behind, if we had a clear path,” said Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, who requested the study.

Veterans account for 21 percent of all Oklahoma suicides, said Shelby Rowe, suicide prevention program manager with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

On average, the state loses three veterans every week to suicide, Rowe said.

Oklahoma veterans are eight times more likely to die by suicide than homicide, she said.

Rowe said mental health conditions are a contributor, but suicide is rarely caused by one factor.

A recent report found that as many as 80 percent of Oklahoma veterans who died from suicide had been diagnosed with depression, and 16 percent with post-traumatic stress disorder, Rowe said.

Other factors that contribute to veteran suicides include intimate partner problems, recent or imminent crisis, job or financial problems, physical health problems, substance use and alcohol problems, and the death of a friend or a family member.

Access to treatment is a huge issue, she said.

Some veterans in rural areas may not be able to make a two-hour trip for a one-hour appointment once a week, she said.

While one veteran lost to suicide is too many, she said, most veterans are not at a risk for suicide.

Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, said it sounded like there was a lack of marketing of resources for veterans who may be at risk for suicide or have a mental health issue.

“We don’t have funding for marketing,” Rowe said.

She said the state needs more ways to do mobile assessment and increased telemedicine.

John J. Harris Jr. is the veterans services coordinator for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. He said the agency has a program to assist new veterans transitioning from active duty into the job market.

The program provides services to veterans with special employment needs, he said.

“We don’t want them to just float,” Harris said. “We want them to swim.”

Often it is determined that a veteran may have more significant issues than just unemployment, Harris said.