New Veterans Crisis Line Expansion Nearly Doubles Suicide Prevention Staff

January 13, 2017

News Type:  Weekly Spark, Weekly Spark News

Military Times

In an effort to improve its capacity to serve veterans and service members who are suicidal, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded its crisis hotline. Operations for the Veterans Crisis Line, which until recently were run out of a single site in New York, will now also be handled by an office in Atlanta. As a result, call responders and social service assistants will nearly double in number, and specialists in military and veterans issues will be available to a larger proportion of callers. “The work at the Veterans Crisis Line is some of the most important work we do in VA,” said department Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson. “[W]e follow through on our commitment to give those who save lives every day at the Crisis Line the training, additional staff, and modern call center technology they need to make the Veterans Crisis Line a gold standard operation.”

Spark Extra! Visit the Veterans Crisis Line website to learn more.