Congressman Greg Landsman (left) intently listens to John Plahovinsak (right) as he explains the details of H.R. 4157 Not Just A Number, during the Congressman’s Town Hall Meeting on February 24, 2024. The bipartisan Veterans’ Suicide Prevention Bill already has forty-five (45) co-sponsors of the legislation. Plahovinsak, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman, was requesting that the Representative would list his name as a co-sponsor. Following the discussion the Congressman indicated that he would certainly read the entire bill and probably co-sponsor the proposed legislation. Photograph provided by Alexa Helwig.
During a Town Hall Meeting held on February 24, 2024, Congressman Greg Landsman indicated he was drafting a new bipartisan bill that would address the effectiveness of Suicide Prevention Plans and Programs currently funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The subject arose when Representative Landsman was asked to co-sponsor H.R. 4157 Not Just a Number, a bill supported at the National Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Washington Legislative Conference.
The bipartisan H.R. 4157 was introduced by Congressman Gerald Connolly on June 15, 2023, and has forty-five (45) co-sponsors. The Companion Bill for the Senate bipartisan version, S. 928, introduced by Senator Jon Tester has twenty-one (21) Senate co-sponsors.
The proposed legislative bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to annually submit a National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report and publish it on a VA website. The VA must study the feasibility of creating a Suicide Prevention Office within the VA, under the auspices of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
The bill would force the VA to review the findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office’s Management Review of the VA’s mental health and suicide prevention services.
Another and most important aspect of H.R. 4157 is that the VA must also analyze and report on which benefits and services from the VA have the greatest impact on suicide prevention among veterans.
Congressman Landsman indicated that the bill he was drafting would focus on what financial grants the VA has already provided to outside agencies and organizations and what did these agencies and organizations accomplish with the grant money.
For example, in May of 2022, the VA launched Mission Daybreak and allocated twenty ($20) million dollars to suicide prevention projects and programs that can meet the diverse needs of veterans.
On February 16, 2023, the VA announced the winners of the $20 million dollar Mission Daybreak Challenge.
Over 1,300 concept applications were submitted for Mission Daybreak by veterans, Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) community-based organizations, health tech companies, start-ups, and universities.
Of the 1,300 applications, thirty (30) submissions were selected by a Mission Daybreak “multidisciplinary judging panel.” The “panel,” according to the VA, represented a diversity of perspectives, from veterans and clinicians to social workers and technical experts.
These thirty (30) applicants each received $250,000. In addition, the “panel” awarded ten (10) additional applicants “a Promise Award” of $100,000 for their efforts.
The two (2) First-Place Winners each received $3 million dollars. They were: Stop Soldier Suicide’s Black Box Project and Televeda’s Project Hozho, which was designed for American Indian and Alaska Native populations.
Three (3) Second-Place Winners each received $1 million dollars. They were: (a) ReflexAI; (b) Sentinel; and (c) Battle Buddy. Five (5) Third-Place Winners each received $500,000. They were: (a) Even Health’s Cabana; (b) Neuro-Flow; (c) Overwatch Project; (d) OxfordVR’s GameChange; and (e) Team Guidehouse’s Data Platform.
My Opinion: Suicide is a serious problem that affects veterans. In 2021, 6,392 veterans died from suicide. Statistics have indicated that veterans are more likely to commit suicide than any other sector of the population.
I do not have a medical background nor am I an expert on the causes of veterans’ suicides. However, I do feel that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) plays a significant part in veterans taking their lives.
I have reviewed each of the brief one-paragraph summaries presented by the VA of the Mission Daybreak winners. However, most of the winning applications in the VA’s Mission Daybreak Challenge appear to be conceptual-in-nature rather than results-driven.
Currently, in Hillsboro, Ohio, there is a veterans-oriented organization that deals primarily with suicide-prone veterans and first-responders. The Save A Warrior (SAW) Program has over ten (10) years of experience and a success rate of over ninety-five (95%) percent.
Although they are results-proven and submitted a quality Mission Daybreak application, they were not successful in receiving any funds from the
“multidisciplinary judging panel.”
H.R. 4157 Not Just A Number will require the VA to report back to Congress on what were the overall positive and negative results of financial grants provided to outside agencies and organizations.
Congressman Landsman indicated he would analyze H.R. 4157 and probably co-sponsor the bill and continue to work on his bipartisan legislation for suicide prevention.
To be effective, suicide prevention solutions must meet veterans where they are, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Veterans’ suicides have no single cause and no single strategy can end veteran suicide.
We must keep trying and we must evaluate what suicide prevention programs are successful and to provide more financial resources to programs that produce positive results.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio Hospital Chairman and the Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be reached at: plahovinsak@msn.com.