On May 13, Governor Newsome announced the establishment of the California Veterans Health Initiative, which aims to eliminate veterans suicide in the state. (Photo: Felton Davis)
On May 13, the office of Governor Gavin Newsome announced that $50 million in state funding would be used to establish the California Veterans Health Initiative, or CVHI, with the purpose of ending veteran suicide in the state.
According to the California Department of Veterans Affairs, or CalVet, the program will “deliver a comprehensive, coordinated statewide approach to ending veteran suicide by focusing on prevention, early intervention, and direct services to effectively combat the risk factors associated with suicidal ideation.” CalVet Secretary Vito Imasciani MD notes that the funding initiative “is an unprecedented investment in the wellbeing of our veterans and their families, for which we are grateful.”
The CVHI has three parts. First, 10 percent of the funding will establish an “outreach and education campaign” to raise awareness on the factors leading to veteran suicide and discuss prevention with relevant parties, such as veterans themselves, their families, and other stakeholders.
Second, the CVHI will improve veterans’ and their families’ access to mental healthcare by allocating funds to a “network of veteran-specific mental health clinics” in California. Program assistance will be made available to veterans regardless of their type or duration of service, disability rating, discharge status, or age.
Finally, the CVHI will use the remaining 10 percent of its funding to establish a task force that will monitor the program’s effectiveness and make recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of future efforts. Additionally, this task force will be responsible for provisioning data relevant to veteran suicide.
Veterans suicide remains a national crisis despite billions of dollars in funding over the past decade. Most recently, the VA opened up grants for organizations that connect veterans with suicide prevention programs.
To contact a veterans crisis line responder at any time or day, call 800-273-8255 or text 838255.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
