Reach vet

We have yet another handy veterans-related acronym: REACH VET. That stands for Recovery Engagement And Coordination for Health — Veterans Enhanced Treatment, and although you can’t tell from the title, the goal of the initiative is to reduce the rate of veteran suicides.

While any effort is to be applauded, the numbers just aren’t getting much better. Here are the averages for some recent years:

2001 — 19 per day

2010 — 21 per day

2012 — 22 per day

2014 — 20 per day

Yes, the Department of Veterans Affairs has taken steps, but it clearly isn’t enough. We have the 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line for immediate help by phone, chat room and text message (1-800273-8255, press 1) or online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or text 838255. We have analytics to predict who’s at risk so providers can intervene. We have Tele Mental Health services for remote help. We have a PTSD phone app with self-management tools.

It’s not enough. It’s not enough because you can’t fix a problem until you know exactly what it is. Getting correct numbers requires the data input from a great many locations. Each report that comes out assesses the numbers in a different way: by age group, drug and alcohol use, gender, era of service and comparison to the civilian population. The number that’s hard to deal with is that no matter what, the rate of veteran suicide per day isn’t significantly changing. Then there are those who say the daily veteran suicide rate is closer to 35.

One VA-provided stat offers hope: Those who are under the VA’s care have a lower rate of risk for suicide. It’s a huge decrease. If you’re a veteran who’s on drugs, who feels isolated, who has extreme mood swings — go to the VA. Get help.