Last week, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., brought out a resolution to have families of veterans who commit suicide honored as “Gold Arrow Families.”
Steube introduced his resolution on Thursday and weighed in on Friday as to why he was championing it.
“Often overlooked, veterans’ family members make a great sacrifice in service to our country,” Steube said. “Unfortunately, without the necessary assistance, sometimes this sacrifice ends up in tragedy for family members, like Army Specialist Ashley M. Taylor, who took her own life after her husband, Army Private Bailey C. Taylor, committed suicide. We all need to come together to not only raise awareness for the mental health issues affecting our veterans and their families, but also to provide crucial resources to those in need so we can prevent another tragedy like this again.”
“This resolution seeks to promote awareness for the needs of the grieving family members who die by suicide and it would determine that suicides by veterans through the adoption of legislation that would provide Gold Arrow Families with resources to help them cope with their loss,” the congressman’s office noted.
Steube’s resolution has eight co-sponsors including U.S. Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Bill Posey, R-Fla., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla.
“An average of 22 United States veterans commit suicide each day. According to the 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, the Veterans Crisis Line serves over 650,000 calls per year. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to mental health crisis centers have increased in all communities, including among our veterans,” Steube’s office noted.
The resolution was sent to the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Reach Kevin Debry at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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