With too many hoops and unnecessary obstacles in the way for veterans in crisis to receive help, Mr. Dan Davis called the Veterans Administration (VA) and the FCC with a recommendation to simplify the suicide hotline telephone number.
Under the former system, military veterans seeking help and suicide prevention assistance called a 1-800 VA number to only then be redirected to call another number specifically for suicide prevention.
With about 22 veterans committing suicide each day, Mr. Davis recognized that veterans in crisis needed an easier way to call for help.
After not receiving an answer from the VA, Mr. Davis turned to Senator Merkley to help get the job done. That’s when Jeff’s team went to the VA to follow up on Mr. Davis’ recommendation. Due to the efforts of Mr. Davis, and with the intervention from Jeff’s office, the VA notified Mr. Davis that they would be implementing his recommendation in August 2016.
The new system – Option 7 – will give callers faced with a suicide crisis the ability to get help by pressing one number after dialing the 1-800 number instead of having to redial an entirely different number.
Thanks to the work of Mr. Davis, military veterans in crisis can more easily get the help they need.
Military veterans have displayed courage and bravery to protect our nation and freedom. They stood up for us, and we must stand up for them – especially when veterans are in times of crisis.
Read more about Jeff’s efforts to help get a new veterans crisis line: http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160601/NEWS/160609958.
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