Michelle Bowman: “It is our responsibility to ensure that our veterans have the resources they need to access care after serving. Every…”

“It is our responsibility to ensure that our veterans have the resources they need to access care after serving. Every year, brave men and women enlist in the military, seeking to serve their country, pursue a better life, and obtain benefits and security for their future. This means being able to afford college and having access to housing, healthcare, and other opportunities. Our troops are deployed into active war zones that too often leave veterans with PTSD, suicidal ideation, anxiety, addiction, depression, and other mental health challenges. Regardless of what congressional district you live in, you will always take what happens in your service back home with you. {time} 1330 But when they return, our government has failed to provide them with the care and support they deserve. The outcome is a veterans suicide crisis. The suicide rate for veterans is 1.5 times higher than the rate of nonveteran adults, and I see this in my district. I have had veterans call my office as a last resort after not being able to access the healthcare they need at the VA. My constituent services team has had multiple cases of veterans struggling with suicidal ideation and other mental health challenges who have expressed an immense frustration that no one in our government seems to care about their well-being. Our veterans deserve better, and we must do better.…”