Sinema and Somers Family Work to Prevent Veterans Suicide and Improve Access to Mental Health Care

Press Release

Today Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema and Howard and Jean Somers spoke at a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing about ways to improve access to mental health services and suicide prevention at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Somers are parents of Arizona Congressional District 09 resident and Army veteran, Daniel Somers, who committed suicide on June 10, 2013 after failing to receive adequate care from the Phoenix VA.

Congresswoman Sinema and the Somers are working together to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health services available to veterans.

"Daniel's story and the Somers' tragedy is familiar to far too many military families," said Sinema during the hearing. "Twenty-two veterans a day take their own lives and that is completely unacceptable."

"Together (with the Somers) we developed the Classified Veterans Access to Care Act, to ensure that all veterans, including those with classified experiences, get immediate access to mental health services in the appropriate care setting," she continued.

"Today, it is our hope that we can begin the process which will ultimately provide hope and care to the 22 veterans a day who are presently ending their lives," testified the Somers. "We sincerely hope that the systemic issues raised here will provide a platform to bring VA representatives from across the country together with lawmakers, veterans and private sector medical professionals and administrators for a comprehensive review of the entire VA system."

"We believe that such a review will result in much-needed revisions to many VA practices and procedures that have failed our veterans seeking the health care that they deserve," they concluded.

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