VA Touts Blumenthal-Supported Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Counseling Program for Veterans as "Transformative"

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At yesterday’s Senate Veterans Committee hearing on supporting veterans’ mental health care needs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asked witnesses about the progress of peer-to-peer support programs in aiding veterans’ mental health care needs. Blumenthal was a lead sponsor of the bipartisan Veteran PEER Act, which became law in 2018 and required the VA to expand the use of peer specialists in patient-aligned care teams at VA medical centers.

Dr. David Carroll, the Executive Director of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the Veterans Health Administration touted the overwhelming success of the peer specialist program, stating: “peer support has been one of the most transformative things that we have added to the VHA mental health and suicide prevention continuum.” Dr. Carroll continued: “It’s an incredibly important aspect, it’s that veteran-to-veteran connection and that opportunity to talk with someone who has walked that same journey with you and for the support and the encouragement to continue and to do the things that are going to make a difference in your life.” Dr. Carroll outlined further plans to expand the program to reach even more veterans given its success.

In his questions, Blumenthal focused on reducing mental health care stigma at the VA, asking witnesses: “how can the VA further reduce the stigma in so far as it continues to persist of seeking mental health care in addition to the peer specialist?”

Thomas Porter, the Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America emphasized reaching veterans, stating the importance of “being able to communicate specifically to veterans and the military community about specific resources that are available.”

Lt Col Jim Lorraine, the President and CEO of America’s Warrior Partnership stressed the need to think holistically about veterans’ mental health, stating: “I would recognize is that suicide is more than just mental health. Mental health is a piece of it, but it’s housing, employment, relationships, financial, it’s a big picture piece. To keep looking at mental health at suicide prevention is solely a mental health solution is somewhat alienating, but if you look at is as holistically, that will reduce the stigma and it will bring people in enough to look and see there are other needs to be met.”

Blumenthal also highlighted extreme risk protection orders as a proven and practical tool to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose an imminent danger to themselves or others, and questioned witnesses about their support for adopting these tools in more jurisdictions to reduce veteran suicides.

“Nineteen states have procedures in law for separating individuals who are an imminent risk of danger to themselves or others from their guns,” Blumenthal said. “The statistics, I think, show that two-thirds of all veterans suicides are done by firearm. Would you favor using those statutes where someone is shown to a court, and a court issues an order to separate that person from his or her firearm for some limited period of time when help could be provided?”

The witnesses stated they would look into these extreme risk protection order proposals and consider their support for their expansion.

-30-