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VA TO TEST SUICIDE PUBLIC SERVICE ADS ON TV -- The VA
is stepping up its suicide prevention outreach
with a
TV announcement featuring actor Gary Sinise.
For more information about veterans and suicide,
use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=suicide&op=and
Be sure to watch the VA's TV ad at the link
below.
Story here...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/20
08/07/14/cbsnews_investigates/main4260904.shtml
Story below:
-------------------------
VA To Test Suicide Public Service Ads
CBS News Investigative producer Pia Malbran wrote
this story for CBSNews.com.
Update: During a Congressional hearing today on Capitol Hill, the
Department of Veterans Affairs unveiled a new suicide prevention PSA. CBS
News has obtained a copy of the clip. Click on the video box to the left
to watch it. Rep. Harry Mitchell said that the VA’s “self-imposed ban
against television advertising” that has been in place until recently was
“outdated and out of touch.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expected to launch a suicide
prevention public service campaign in Washington, DC next week as part of
a three-month pilot program.
 CBS
News has learned that the VA will roll out the campaign on July 21 which
will include a series of bus advertisements as well as more than 300 ads
inside DC commuter trains and at metro train stations.
The agency has also produced a television public service announcement
featuring actor Gary Sinise who portrayed a disabled veteran in the 1994
movie “Forrest Gump”. A spokesperson for Sinise confirmed his
participation.
The pilot program is intended to raise awareness of suicide prevention and
spread the word about the VA’s 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. CBS
News has learned the ads will show a silhouette of a soldier kneeling in
front of an American flag with the message: “it takes the courage and
strength of a warrior to ask for help. If you or someone you know is in an
emotional crisis call 1-800-273-TALK.”
VA spokesperson Lisette Mondello told CBS News that if the pilot campaign
“does raise awareness of the hotline then we will be able to roll it to
other places across the country.”
“Ensuring that help is available for veterans at risk for suicide is only
half the battle,” said Congressman Harry Mitchell, a Democrat from Arizona
who also serves as Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations. Since enrolling into the VA system is
voluntary, Congressman Mitchell adds, "Veterans need to know where they
can turn to get help.”
Mitchell has been pushing the VA to beef up its suicide prevention efforts
and has also been instrumental in encouraging the agency to use paid
public service announcements. Mitchell’s Oversight Subcommittee held a
hearing to discuss the issue this week.
According to a spokesperson for Mitchell, VA officials have been debating
whether or not the agency has the authority to use paid advertising as
part of their outreach plan. Last month, the House Veterans’ Affairs
Committee passed a bill giving the VA such authority. On June 16, VA
Secretary James Peake sent a memo to his staff informing them that the VA
“may purchase advertising in media outlets for the purpose of promoting
awareness of benefits.”
This latest move by Secretary Peake comes after much criticism that the
agency has not been doing enough to deal with the true risk of suicide
among veterans.
David Rudd, a former army psychologist and the chair of the psychology
department at Texas Tech University, said that while more outreach is
good, access to healthcare is also a big concern. Rudd says after letting
veterans know where to go for help with the public service ads, the next
step would be to figure out “how are you going to reduce delays and then
how are you going to keep [veterans] in care. Those are the things we know
reduce death rates.”
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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