MFP ENews | Supporting Those Who Serve Our Nation

Those Who Serve Our Nation

By Ina A. Ramos, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Associate, The MayaTech Corporation

In 2019, there were over 4.7 million active duty and ready reserve personnel and family members and 17.4 million veterans.^1,2 In 2019, 3.9 million veterans had a mental and/or substance use disorder, representing a 6.5% increase from 2018 and 2.3% (481,000) had co-occurring disorders. Of those veterans with co-occurring disorders, illicit substance use represented the highest rates in the past year for those experiencing any mental disorder (29.5%) and serious mental illness (35.2%) followed by marijuana at 23.7% and 24.8% respectively.³ In 2018, the suicide rate for veterans was 1.5 times the rate for non-veteran adults, with approximately 17.6 veterans dying by suicide daily.⁴ Research has linked an increased risk of substance use disorders among military personnel to environmental stressors, including deployment, combat exposure, and post-deployment challenges. The use of substances has also been found to be secondary to mental disorders associated with these stressors, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.⁵ Military families can also be exposed to considerable stress caused by extended and repeated deployments. Research has found poorer family mental health, behavioral problems in children, higher risk of divorce, and higher rates of suicide to be associated with military deployments.⁶ The dedication and service of the active duty and ready reserve personnel, veterans, and their families to our nation must be met with support in their time of need.

SAMHSA SMVF TA Center

The SAMHSA Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Technical Assistance (SMVF TA) Center provides technical assistance support to state, territory, military, and civilian interagency teams, in an effort to strengthen the behavioral health systems. Since 2010, the SMVF TA has worked to address the behavioral health needs of service members, veterans, and their families by:

Monitoring behavioral health-focused prevention, treatment, and recovery support for the mental health and substance use needs of service members, veterans, and their families as well as the challenges faced by states and territories.
Providing technical assistance, training tools, and consultation to states and territories thereby promoting coordination among civilian, military, and veteran service systems.
Supporting the resilience and emotional health of service members, veterans, and their families by identifying, sharing, and encouraging the adoption of promising, best, and evidence-based practices.
Strengthening behavioral healthcare systems and services in states and territories by identifying experts and resources to meet the evolving needs of service members, veterans, and their families.
Supporting the planning and implementation of state and territory interagency teams, and training of SAMHSA stakeholders and grantees on issues and providing resources and publications related to service members, veterans, and their families.

The key objectives of the SMVF TA Center are:

Strengthening ongoing collaboration at the state and territory level among key public and private (civilian, military, and veteran) agencies and stakeholders that address, or need to address, the behavioral health needs of service members, veterans, and their families
Providing a centralized mechanism for states and territories to use when they have questions about behavioral health systems for service members, veterans, and their families and to learn, connect, and share with experts and peers
Increasing awareness of and access to resources and programs that strengthen behavioral healthcare systems for service members, veterans, and their families
Increasing awareness of and coordinated responses to meeting the behavioral health needs of service members, veterans, and their families among agencies, providers, and stakeholders in the states and territories receiving technical assistance
Increasing the number of states and territories that implement promising, best, and evidence-based practices that strengthen behavioral healthcare systems for their service members, veterans, and their families

The SMVF TA Center hosts webinars featuring best practices and lessons learned to increase awareness of behavioral health issues impacting service members, veterans, and their families. Access SMVF TA webinars. Access the YouTube Channel for more behavioral health webinars. The SMVF TA Center also provides information to support improving the delivery of behavioral health services for military members, veterans, and their families. To access the toolkits, directories, and other essential resources developed by SAMHSA and its public and private partners, visit https://www.samhsa.gov/smvf-ta-center/resources/tools.

Additional SAMHSA Resources

For technical assistance inquiries, email the SMVF TA Center.

For help with interagency coordination and federal efforts, email Stacey Owens , SAMHSA Military and Veteran Affairs Liaison.

References

Those Who Serve Our Nation

By Ina A. Ramos, Ph.D. Senior Technical Associate, The MayaTech Corporation

By Ina A. Ramos, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Associate, The MayaTech Corporation