VA works to identify, help vets at risk for suicide
BUTLER TWP — When meeting with a person who has been in the military, a counselor often has to take a different approach than they would when counseling a civilian.
Samantha McCandless, community engagement and partnership coordinator for VA Butler Healthcare, said an average of 17 U.S. veterans died each day by suicide in 2021, so the agency is making a push to meet veterans where they are.
“Every vet you encounter has been trained one way or another to kill somebody; with the average Joe, you don't encounter that,” McCandless said. “The younger guys — when they are coming home, they have a hard time connecting, and it's a problem.”
VA Butler Healthcare is just one of the Veterans Affairs agencies across the nation adapting methods to deal with veteran suicides.
Will Rudd, suicide prevention social worker for VA Butler Healthcare, said the agency is using a method called Suicide Prevention 2.0, which aims to identify veterans who are at a high risk for suicide and get them into a treatment plan immediately.
“It is the responsibility of all service areas to screen veterans for suicide risk,” Rudd said. “If we end up with a positive screen, by the end of that encounter (that person is) physically walked to one of the behavioral health providers until there can be a more comprehensive assessment.”
He says the method “has a very narrow focus: safety planning.”
“Just addressing risk factors — that's kind of a new tool,” Rudd said.
According to Rudd, nationwide suicide is the second leading cause of death for veterans age 45 and younger — and that statistic is reflected in Butler County, where many of the people identified as being at a high risk of suicide are 45 years old and younger.
Rudd explained that he works on the clinical side of suicide prevention, while McCandless said she mainly works in the community to identify at-risk veterans. To make contact with at-risk veterans, McCandless visits care centers in VA Butler Healthcare’s five-county coverage region of Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Lawrence and Mercer counties and establishes connections.
“Statistically speaking, most of our vets are going to outside resources when in crisis,” McCandless said. “I have to do the best I can to be that resource for the community and make sure they are understanding of what's going on.”
Once McCandless makes these connections, she continues to attend meetings of regional suicide coalitions to find veterans and get them the treatment they need.
Rudd said Veterans Health Administration is leading efforts to achieve a 10% reduction in veteran suicide between 2019 and 2024, and nationwide that number is already at a 5% reduction. He attributes the reduction to the initiative to identify at-risk veterans early and get them into consistent treatment.
“There has never been a veteran who we haven't monitored closely because of elevated risk,” Rudd said. “Providing enhanced treatment, there has never been a suicide of one of those veterans. So I would say that the intervention is working.”
Rudd also said the administration aims to have an additional sustained 3% annual reduction in veteran suicides by 2028, which he believes could be attainable locally.
McCandless said one of the simplest ways she works to reduce suicides is by making herself available to the veterans she meets.
“If you look at my card, that's my cellphone number. It's not an extension; (calls) come right to me,” McCandless said. “It might take me a hot minute, but I'm reading every email, going through every voicemail.”
