PTSD: The Invisible War Injury. Support H.R. 5059 To Help Prevent Veteran Suicide

SUPPORT H.R. 5059 Clay Hunt SAV Act

PTSD is something we all have heard about but no one really talks about. It can be as disabling as a gunshot wound, but because no one can see the scars, even the person who has it, it is difficult to recognize and difficult to get help for.

I think we have all seen movies or heard stories about people who have PTSD. The stories portrayed in the movies are usually the most dramatic, the worst case scenarios. However, there are many, many soldiers, men and women, who return to their homes from the battlefield with signs and symptoms of PTSD who are ignored by the medical profession simply because they don’t recognize those symptoms or relate them to military service. Our veterans can fall through the cracks due to the lack of the services available through the Veteran’s Administration Health Care System. There just isn’t enough access–not enough money being allocated for Veteran’s Health Care, and not enough doctors to handle the huge case load that the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan has created.

Clay Hunt, pictured above, was a United States Marine who returned from two tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Although he was diagnosed with PTSD, he only received mediation to help alleviate the symptoms he was experiencing. There was no counseling or psychiatric help available to him through the VA.  In March of 2011 we lost Clay Hunt to suicide. And every day we lose 22 more veterans like Clay — someone’s daughter, son, parent or friend.

The key to curbing the epidemic of veteran suicides is improving the accessibility and effectiveness of mental health care available to our returning heroes — and the Clay Hunt SAV Act will do just that. The bill received bipartisan support from lawmakers in both the House and the Senate from around the country. One lone Senator- Tom Coburn of Oklahoma stopped it from passing this week so now we must demand that Congress immediately pick it up again in the new year. No excuses! The need is urgent!

Please sign our petition asking Congress to improve health services for our nation’s veterans and by passing this legislation within the first 90 days of the new session.

Tell Congress to make this crucial bill their top priority in January. Click here to read more about and sign the petition today. Let Congress know that taking care of our military veterans is of the utmost importance. They served us in time of war, now it is our turn to serve them.

The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act  or simply the “Clay Hunt SAV Act.” (H.R. 5059). This bi-partisan bill will increase access to mental health care, boost capacity to meet mental health care demand, improve the quality of care for troops and veterans, provide seamless care from the Department of Defense to VA and develop community support for veterans nationwide.