Original story published by the Washington Examiner: Restoring America series by Cole Lyle.

The public has a bad frame of reference, or none at all, when it comes to the challenges veterans can face. That’s mostly because the military and veteran communities are small; less than 1% of the U.S. population is currently serving in the military, and 80% of veterans report having an immediate family member who served. Thus, few civilians have relationships to help inform their thoughts on veteran issues. The problem is exacerbated by one-dimensional media stereotypes of veterans. It’s no wonder that 64% of veterans say they feel misunderstood.

It has been difficult to change the narrative surrounding veteran suicide. But to implement smarter policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs for suicide prevention initiatives, we have to do just that. Otherwise, the issue will remain a tired policy discussion that officials become numb to, and the lack of urgency and creativity in solutions will persist.

According to data from the VA, 17 veterans a day — 6,205 per year — take their own lives. When presented with these sobering statistics, most people are shocked and angry. But, like the VA, civilians generally associate veteran suicide with a mental health issue related to their service, such as post-traumatic stress.

The reality is different; only a small percentage of veterans are diagnosed with PTSD, and at the moment of decision, mental health symptoms may not be the main driver. Lack of purpose, no support system, financial struggle, healthcare issues, and relationship stress are all just as likely to be the proverbial straw that breaks a veteran’s will to live.

Attempting to reduce veteran suicide by viewing solutions through the prism of mental health has, objectively, not worked. It never will. But the VA has refused to concede this point at a huge cost. To be clear, mental healthcare is an important part of the solution. But veterans who have taken their lives needed a sense of urgency and creative ideas from officials charged with their care.

Despite dramatic increases in the VA’s budget and positive reforms from Congress, such as the Commander John Scott Hannon Act (S.785), the agency remains mired in bureaucracy that can be frustrating for any individual veteran to navigate. This frustration is likely why just 50% of veterans in America choose to use the VA for healthcare.

The Mission Roll Call team met with VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s senior staff late last year to underscore the importance of making suicide prevention the VA’s No. 1 priority. But the secretary instead named timely access to world-class healthcare and benefits as his top priority for 2022 at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. He went so far as to say, “Anything else we do won’t matter.” Subsequently, the administration released its annual budget request, which ended up including just $497 million for suicide prevention, or one-tenth of 1% of the total $301 billion request.

The VA’s significantly larger budget for mental health, which is the linchpin of its suicide prevention strategy, focuses on “providing a system of comprehensive treatments and services to meet the needs of each veteran … increasing access to quality mental healthcare and lowering the cost of mental health services.” But what is the plan to reach the unknowable number of veterans who don’t have a touch point with the VA who might take their own lives?

The community organization grant funding Congress included in S.785 is a great start. Lawmakers recognized that the VA is not nimble enough to create connections with veterans that local organizations have. But, the VA being the VA, it still hasn’t awarded the hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding almost two years later. The anemic $497 million in suicide prevention funding this year includes $174 million in this funding.

Going forward, Congress and the VA should aggressively expand this program. It’s a way to promote community buy-in toward creative solutions faster and get veterans the care they need in or out of the VA system.

Everyone agrees that the epidemic of veteran suicide is a tragedy in need of urgent solutions. But making progress will require a shift in perspective by VA leadership. This will only happen if the public and Congress consistently and passionately demand change.

That’s why veterans, and people who support them, must tell policymakers in Washington to make suicide prevention the VA’s No. 1 priority. And that means approaching veteran suicide as more than something that can be addressed through mental healthcare alone.

We need to have a sense of urgency about the issue. Veteran suicide is stealing what might otherwise be a lifetime of service to families, friends, and communities. Simply put, the VA needs to do better. When the policy under discussion is veteran suicide, failure has deadly consequences.

Cole Lyle is the executive director of Mission Roll Call, former policy adviser in the U.S. Senate and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and combat veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.