FollowUS President Barack Obama confirms the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act by signing it into law.
He called for the evaluation of the current Veterans Affairs suicide prevention and mental health programs. The said bill would expand the reach of these programs for the veterans. It was signed on February 12 (White House Washington).
Obama acknowledges the challenges of the country’s veterans and that he wanted to reduce military suicide epidemic, which claims many lives. As he was preparing to put his signature to the suicide prevention law, he told the veterans and soldiers that they are not forgotten. The said law requires the Veterans Affairs Department and the Pentagon to submit their independent reviews of the suicide prevention programs and that they have to make suicide information accessible to the veterans.
The said law also offers incentives to mental health professionals who would agree to work for the Veterans Affairs as well as assist the military members while transitioning from active to veteran status.
It was named for Clay Hunt, a veteran of the Marines who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and committed suicide in Texas in 2011 after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
