(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has provided $642,629 from taxpayers for Colorado organizations focused on veteran suicide prevention services.
The VA provided the money to the Healing Warriors Program in the Eastern Plains, plus the Front Range and the Valley-Wide Health Systems in Southern Colorado.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, welcomed the funding and said it will provide veterans with the benefits they earned.
“Our country’s veterans have sacrificed so much to keep us safe, and we must do more to ensure they have access to the mental health care they’ve earned,” Bennet said in a press release. “I’m grateful Colorado will benefit from this investment, which will save lives and expand urgently needed support to veterans nationwide.”
Additionally, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, said the funding will save lives.
“Over six thousand veterans die by suicide each year,” Hickenlooper said. “We won’t stand by as our veterans suffer in silence after serving their country. These grants will save lives.”
Bennet and Hickenlooper also helped pass the PACT Act in 2022, which Bennet’s office touts as the largest expansion of veteran healthcare ever.
Additionally, last year, the two Senators co-sponsored a resolution to designate Warrior Call Day, a day encouraging Americans to check in with veterans on their mental health in hopes of preventing veteran suicide.