Brewer Recognizes MA Commitment to Suicide Prevention in Veterans
(Boston) – Senator Stephen M. Brewer (D-Barre) today joined the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention in honoring the Commonwealth’s Statewide Advocacy for Veterans’ Empowerment (SAVE) program. The program’s primary mission is to prevent suicide and mental health distress by identifying issues faced by veterans and their families and provide them with access to state and federal benefits and services that address these issues.
Department of Veterans’ Services Secretary Coleman Nee was on hand at the event to accept the award. The SAVE program is a collaboration between DVS and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Brewer, who presented the award, has worked closely with Nee, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and Operation Desert Storm, to secure services for veterans.
“This program is critical to providing a positive transition back to civilian life for our returning veterans,” said Brewer. “To date, SAVE has done outreach to over 13,000 veterans and family members, providing critical services like suicide prevention and training for first responders. Suicide is not something that is chosen and this program shows that there is light at the end of darkness. Traumatic Brain Injury affects 17% of our returning veterans. This is a wound that we cannot see just by looking at someone, but by identifying these issues and supporting veterans and their families we are ensuring that they are receiving the best services.”
The SAVE program began in 2008 with a fundamental principal to advocate for all veterans who, due to institutional or personal barriers, are not able to obtain the benefits they have earned. Since its start, the program has provided case management and follow up services to over 7,000 veterans and their families. Additionally, SAVE provides a training called “Battlemind”, which educates families, providers, and community members on the mental health challenges of returning veterans.
Brewer, who once served as the first ever Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans’ and Federal Affairs was instrumental in passing one of the most comprehensive state benefits legislation, which became known as the Massachusetts Welcome Home Bill and in 2008, Brewer served on the Special Commission to Study and Investigate the Hidden Wounds of War on Massachusetts Service Members to examine the mental health effects of war on returning Massachusetts service members.
Now Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, Brewer worked hard in Fiscal Year 2012 to secure a 10 percent increases to Veteran’s Outreach Centers and Homeless Shelters. Funding included in the budget also allowed the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke to open up a new 12 bed wing for veterans in need of long-term care. This year, although spending cuts are imminent, Governor Patrick recommended a 13.5% increase for funding for the Department of Veterans Services in his budget proposal released last month.
“One out of three homeless people that you see once wore the uniform, once graduated from boot camp, has loved ones that they care about and care about them,” Brewer continued. “These Veterans have a home and it’s called the United States of America. We need to do better.”
The Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention is a broad based inclusive alliance of suicide prevention advocates, including public and private agency representatives, policy makers, suicide survivors, mental health and public health consumers and providers, and concerned citizens dedicated to working together to reduce the incidence of self-harm and suicide in the Commonwealth.
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Posted: Mon, Feb 6, 2012
Updated Mon, Feb 6, 2012