News out of Alabama regarding one of the most important topics tied to veterans, that legislatures all over the nation are trying to solve.
Mental health care. And funding of those mental health programs.
There, the Commissioner for Veterans Affairs is saying that mental health crises and suicide is a growing problem in the region and that more funding is needed (story HERE).
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While a department asking for more funding is normally something every taxpayer should be skeptical of, in this case I believe it deserves serious consideration.
Would you like to know why?
Because high up administrators and politicians don’t like to discuss veterans suicide. When a veteran takes their life, we all lose. Spouses lose their husband or wife, kids lose their parents, parents lose children.
And the country loses patriots.
If we’ve got high up admins specifically asking for money in the midst of a risk so high, that they’re setting aside any concerns of political appearances then we have to act.
Now, it would be relevant for the Alabama legislature to ask for some receipts.
This is because we’ve got some bad organizations that either don’t know how to spend their money, or will cash checks and not take any serious steps towards solving the problem they were given the money for.
If there is a budget hearing, I’d love to see all of those concerns addressed. I love budget hearings.
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But in the end, the Alabama legislature must take the necessary steps to ensure our veterans are getting the care they earned.
If not, anytime we hear of a veteran taking their life in Alabama we’re going to be asking questions and wondering if there were steps we could have taken now to prevent it.
If you’re reading this from Alabama, call your state officials and ask them to take action on this urgent matter.