The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking suicide-prevention live and online, piloting a one-to-one “chat service” for veterans
who’d prefer to seek help over the Internet.
Called “Veterans Chat,” the new service enables veterans, their
families and friends to anonymously chat online with
a trained VA counselor. If a “chatter” is determined to be in a crisis,
the counselor can take immediate steps to transfer the person to the VA
Suicide Prevention hot line, where further counseling,referral
services and crisis intervention measures are provided.
“This online feature is intended to reach out to all veterans who may
or may not be enrolled in the VA health-care system and provide them
with online access to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline,” said Dr. Gerald
Cross, VA’s acting under secretary for health. “It is meant to provide
veterans with an anonymous way to access VA’s suicide prevention
service.
Find military resources in the Hudson Valley here.
