The primary crisis hotline for veterans experienced a 98 percent increase in the number of texts that it received during the last two weeks of August compared to the same two weeks last year, according to Stars and Stripes.
Calls to the Veterans Crisis Line increased 7 percent and online chats increased by nearly 40% during the same time period, from Aug. 13 to 29. Department of Veterans Affairs officials attribute the increase to multiple factors, including the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Veterans Administration said there’s an increased awareness of the hotline since last year and there’s not as much stigma about utilizing the resource. Read more at Stars and Stripes.
