Beshear urges mental health experts to help veterans
Gov. Steve Beshear
The Associated Press
FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear is calling on mental health professionals in Kentucky to volunteer services for veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Beshear urged counselors to provide an hour of free service each week for up to one year to returning troops and their families. He said it’s vital that the soldiers know they can seek help when needed.
The governor was lending his voice to a national mental health initiative known as Give an Hour.
An average of 18 suicides occur each day among America’s 25 million veterans. Fort Campbell’s suicide rate is currently the highest in the Army, with statistics showing that an average of one soldier per week committed suicide at the post between January and mid-March 2009.
The goal of Give an Hour is to enlist 10 percent of the nation’s licensed mental health providers in the effort by 2015.
About the Author: John Stamper is the accountability editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
