Unfortunately, this scourge doesn’t ever seem to get better. The organization America’s Warrior Partnership has conducted deep and comprehensive research into how accurate the data collection is on the reporting of veteran suicide.
It seems that the raw info comes directly from county-level coroners and medical examiners, and there is no good way for these folks to know if the deceased person they are dealing with was a military veteran. The study results indicate that veteran suicides are being underreported anywhere from 18 to 24 percent nationwide.
Basically, when the responsible medical authority works a suicide case, if they have some indication that the deceased was a veteran, they forward the information to Veterans Affairs. To further complicate reporting, there is no clear standard for determining if a drug overdose death might be an actual suicide. Not exactly a recipe for comprehensive reporting, and it is quite disturbing to me that the current 18-22 veteran suicides per day might really be 21-25 per day nationally. Find more information at https://bit.ly/3BWzfpk.
VA to Extend Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers eligibility for “legacy” Veterans and caregivers The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced that it will extend its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) eligibility for certain Veterans and their family caregivers through Sept. 30, 2025. Specifically, this new rule will extend program eligibility for legacy participants, legacy applicants, and their family caregivers, by three years. A legacy participant is a Veteran or servicemember who was participating in PCAFC as of Sept. 30, 2020, and a legacy applicant is a Veteran or servicemember who applied for PCAFC before Oct. 1, 2020, and was accepted into the program on or after Oct. 1, 2020.
Previously, the VA was making legacy veterans undergo a review to be continued in the program, but the chances for success under the review process were about the same odds as winning the lottery. Congress, in its wisdom, heeded the outcry from the veteran community and has apparently reigned in the VA, at least for now. This is a messy program that has di rent benefits and eligibility criteria for different periods of veteran service. Find more information at https://bit.ly/3UoaRV3.
A Free Cruise: On a lighter note, if you are a bona fide Parrot Head, have Parrot Head tendencies, or just enjoyed the music of Florida’s Jimmy Buffet over the decades, Margaritaville At Sea is o ring free cruises to active duty military and veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers, among others, under a “Heroes Sail Free” promotion. The cruise discount is based on double occupancy, so one partner is going to end up paying “full boat” for their part of the cruise. More information at https://bit.ly/3BWzfpk. As always, please pass on info, events, or anything veteran related you would like to see discussed to osceolavets@gmail.com.
