Each year, the Department Of Veterans Affairs releases a report that lists important statistics regarding veterans suicide. It states important factors such as how many of our brothers and sisters took their lives in the given year, as well as how, and where. These numbers are used to compare how effective efforts to stop loss of life has been.

Unfortunately, last year’s report, which should have been released in December, has been delayed (story HERE). VA officials say the government shutdown is to blame.

The problem, is that the report already works on old numbers. The VA says their information collection process is the reason why when released, we’ll still be looking at 2023 numbers on the 2025 report.

You could argue that its this kind of lethargic response that allows us to move forward years, without making any significant progress on the biggest problem that post transition veterans face. The depression that makes them not want to be alive anymore.

Still, this important data remains locked away. I often find one of the most useful aspects of the report is the state to state numbers. While this is a federal report, we can learn a lot about veterans suicide by simply observing the conditions in each state, and how each area treats their veterans.

The last number reported for 2022 was 6,407 veterans dead. Or about 17 heroes taking their own lives everyday.

Yes, it comes from poor transition services, which leads to post military depression, which pushes in the direction of a downward spiral. And all we’ve been doing for years is reacting late.

And now we can’t even get the report out. We have to do better.