Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley addressed the Department of Veterans Affairs report released yesterday illustrating a rise in veterans suicides from 2020 to 2021, despite the increase in resources to help veterans and prevent them from taking their own lives.
Haley posted the following on X and is the first candidate for president to address the difficult subject.
“My heart breaks for these vets who couldn’t find the help they needed. We have to do better for our veterans on AND off the battlefield. No military family should ever go through this pain. We must do all we can to reverse this trend & save our heroes.”
My heart breaks for these vets who couldn’t find the help they needed. We have to do better for our veterans on AND off the battlefield. No military family should ever go through this pain. We must do all we can to reverse this trend & save our heroes.https://t.co/EQ7Ta8FKNN
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 17, 2023
The report, which is tabulated on a two year lag because of CDC procedure, noted that 6,392 veterans took their life in 2021.The number was 114 more deaths than the previous year.
In my home state of Florida, we’ve been among the leader in veteran suicides with affordable housing, workforce assistance, and transition services all being difficult to come by. I’m personally struggling to find a place in my hometown of Orlando right now.
Numbers were expected to decline coming out of the peak era of the COVID pandemic but instead the 2021 numbers broke a two year drop in the number of suicide cases. This as services such as the emergency hotline for veterans are under scrutiny (story HERE).
If you’d like to read my analysis of the report. You can HERE.
And if you’d like to support the blog, you can below.
Note: I’ve decided to support Nikki Haley’s campaign for President in 2024 because of veterans issues. I am not a journalist covering this race.