When a Veteran is in Crisis America Must Be There to Help

Congressman David Young’s Capitol Solutions

Weekly Report to Iowa’s Hardworking Taxpayers

EDITORS NOTE: I look forward to providing this report each week as a resource of information for Iowans on the issues being debated and discussed in my goal to be the most accessible member of Congress possible.

When a Veteran is in Crisis America Must Be There to Help

It was late on a Saturday evening. An Iowa veteran called the Veterans Crisis Line - the confidential, toll free hotline for veterans seeking help from suicide prevention and crisis counselors at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

He was having a rough day. He was having trouble keeping it together. He needed help – he knew it - and he was reaching out.

But the phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing. No answer.

He tried again and again to contact anyone at the hotline - seeking the help he desperately needed and wanted. But the hotline, which promises help to veterans in crisis, either came up with a busy signal or continued to ring and ring and ring.

This heartbreaking story is tragically true, but it is not unique. And, thankfully this veteran contacted a friend who got him the help he was asking for.

Last year, a number of complaints about missed or unanswered calls, unresponsive staff, as well as inappropriate and delayed responses to veterans in crisis prompted the VA Office of the Inspector General, the watchdog arm of the federal agency, to conduct an investigation into the Veterans Crisis Line. The investigation found ‘gaps in the quality assurance process,’ and provided a number of recommendations to address the quality, responsiveness, and performance of the Veterans Crisis Line and the mental health care provided to our veterans.

While the VA promised to implement changes to address problems facing veterans who choose to use this tool, problems still persist. There continue to be instances of veterans calling the Veterans Crisis Line who wait for timely and effective mental health care assistance.  A veteran in times of need or crisis cannot wait for help and any incident where a veteran has trouble with the Veterans Crisis Line is simply unacceptable.

The Iowa veteran’s experience that Saturday evening troubled me.

The following Monday, I got to work to turn this near-tragedy into a victory of better service for our veterans in crisis. I consulted with the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and veterans organizations to write legislation which ensures we follow through on the promises made to our veterans.

Earlier this week, I introduced the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act, H.R. 5392, legislation which requires the VA to provide and implement a plan to improve responsiveness and performance of the crisis line, an important step to ensure our veterans have mental health resources they need.

The legislation requires the VA to develop and implement a quality assurance process to address responsiveness and performance of the Veterans Crisis Line and backup call centers, and a timeline of when objectives will be reached. It also directs the VA to create a plan to ensure any communication to the Veterans Crisis Line or backup call center is answered in a timely manner by a live person and document the improvements they make.

Our veterans have served us bravely, and now we must in turn serve them. Ultimately, we must put our veterans and their wellbeing first.  I am honored to work on behalf of our veterans in Iowa and across the country and I am hopeful my colleagues - Republicans and Democrats alike - will join me in support of this legislation. We must ensure those who answered our nation’s call aren’t left waiting on the line.

David Young is the Congressman serving all the people of Iowa’s Third Congressional District. He is a member of the Committee on Appropriations and Subcommittees on Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

# # #