Important Mental Health Support Information

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
• National Hotline for Homeless Veterans 1-877-424-3838
• National Caregiver Support Line 1-855-260-3274 (Open Monday - Friday, 5 a.m.-8 p.m. PST; Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. PST) - The primary resource/referral center to assist caregivers, Veterans and other seeking caregiver information to assist in the care of Veterans
• Marine Corps Suicide Prevention "DSTRESS" hotline 1-877-476-7734
• Local County Mental Health 24-Hour Crisis Intervention Numbers
• Local County Mental Health Access and Referral Information

Training and Toolkits to Support Mental Health for Veterans, Service Members and their Families

• Upcoming Training

Attention service members, veterans, and their families:

• Another Kind of Valor is a powerful new DVD/CD Learning System that is designed to address the needs of VA, law enforcement, homeless shelters, hospital emergency rooms, family members, and professionals trained to assist emotionally damaged veterans returning to civilian life. Through nine compelling docudramas, it explores the behavioral manifestations of veterans with deep emotional wounds as they battle "their invisible enemy within".
• California Veteran’s Resource Book. The California Department of Veteran Affairs has published this handbook which contains a listing of the compensation, health, educational, employment, housing and burial benefits that are available to Veterans from federal, state and county agencies.
• A Handbook for Family & Friends of Service Members: Before, During and After Deployment: The Defense Centers of Excellence has created this toolkit to prepare family and friends of military service members with information to better understand and cope with the range of emotions and stress that often accompany deployment. This toolkit covers before, during, and after deployment and includes referrals to tools and resources
• Children of Military Service Members Resource Guide The Defense Centers of Excellence has created a guide containing online resources that assist families and health providers address the mental and emotional health needs of military children. The guide identifies age appropriate resources addressing topics such as deployment, homecoming, loss of a parent, mental/emotional well being and moving. The guide is free and complete copies can be downloaded
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Toolkits for Service Members, Veterans and their families. This document summarizes all available toolkits on the SAMHSA website that support behavioral health systems serving service members, veterans and their families. (updated as of February 18, 2011).
• Engaging Veterans and Families to Enhance Service Delivery: A Toolkit for Community-Based Organizations. Released by the National Center on Family Homelessness this toolkit discusses the impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and offers useful tools for veteran outreach, including understanding the unique experiences of female veterans, and maximizing veteran participation in programs and services. Download free copies of the toolkit or order free copies from the National Center on Family Homelessness at Rosenie.clervil@familyhomelessness.org or call 617-964-3836
• Trauma-Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Service Providers. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced the release a new online publication which explains the unique experiences and needs of women Veterans, and provides organizational self-assessment tools to aid service providers, such as social workers and community service organizations, that work to address the psychological and mental health needs of women Veterans.

Services for Veterans

• California Department of Veteran Affairs
• U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Mental Health Website
• California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs: Veterans & Service Members
• Operation Welcome Home
• California Network of Care for Veterans and Service Members
• County Contacts for Public Mental Health Services
• County Contacts for services provided by the Mental Health Services Act
• County Veterans Assistance and Service Referral Programs
• National Resource Directory is an online partnership for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families and those who support them, which provides access to services and resources at the national, state, and local levels to support recovery, rehabilitation and community reintegration.
• Guide to VA Mental Health Services for Veterans and Families
• inTransition is a Department of Defense Program that is meant to support service members as they move between mental health care systems and providers
• California Cares 4 Youth is a new program through the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is meant to help young service members/veterans under the age of 25 or younger in select target counties to overcome problems related to alcohol and drug use.
• Citizen Soldier Support Program: Primary Health Care and Behavioral Health Provider Directory is a network of primary and behavioral health care providers who are trained in, or who have expressed an interest in serving the specific needs of military members and their families. The Citizen Soldier Support Program, which compiles this directory, is a congressionally authorized, federally funded grant administered through the Odum Institute for Research and Social Science at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  Find local California providers in your area.

Suicide Prevention and Stigma Reduction Resources for Veterans

• DCoE Collaborates with ‘The USAA Educational Foundation’ on New Suicide Prevention Publication - In an effort to provide useful suicide prevention information and resources to service members and their families, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee (SPaRRC) and The USAA Educational Foundation, is releasing the educational publication, “Suicide Prevention.”
• California Office of Suicide Prevention
• Fact Sheet:  Suicide Prevention Among Veterans and Servicemembers
• California Strategic Plan on Suicide Prevention: Every Californian is Part of the Solution
• U.S. Veteran’s Administration Suicide Prevention Hotline
• U.S. Department of the Army Suicide Prevention Website
• Department of Defense/Veterans Administration Resources for Suicide Prevention
• Army National Guard Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Task
  The ARNG-R3SP Task Force  synchronizes Army National Guard health promotion and risk reduction efforts, including procedures to review, assess and manage Task Action Plans developed in conjunction with the Army’s Health Promotion and Risk Reduction Council.
• California Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

• In September 2009 the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hosted the “2nd Annual Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) & Suicide Prevention Conference: Safety Planning for People with Brain Injuries”.  Presentations and materials for this conference are available here. 
• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 19 (Rocky Mountain Veterans Integrated Service Network) Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center has developed a clinical guide and resources specifically targeted toward TBI survivors who may be at risk of suicide. 
• Mild TBI Pocket Guide Developed by the Defense Centers of Excellence and the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, this tool is a quick reference for primary care and other TBI health care providers for the treatment and management of patients with mild TBI (mTBI) and related symptoms.
• Co-Occurring Conditions Toolkit: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health. Developed by the Defense Centers of Excellence, this toolkit will assist primary care providers with assessing and managing patients with co-occurring mild traumatic brain injury.
• Traumatic Brain Injury information and services
• TBI: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans. Developed by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) and based on the needs of real-life caregivers and their experiences, “Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans” provides support, education on TBI and guidance on symptom management. The DVBIC is a collaborative effort between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare systems and funded through the DoD.

Additional Veterans Initiatives in California

• California Mental Health Planning Council: January 2008 Paper, Recommendations to Strengthen Mental Health Services for Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families
• DMH Director Dr. Stephen Mayberg’s presentation on California Initiatives and Services for Returning Service Members, Veterans, and their Families
• The California Department of Mental Health provides resources to other State Departments for effective collaboration on veterans behavioral health issues, such as:
• California Department of Veterans Affairs
• California National Guard
• Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs

National Veterans Initiatives

• Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Cabinet members and Administration Officials from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness deliver a plan to finish the job of ending veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015 and among families, youth, and children by 2020.

Here is a listing of all State level Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Interagency Partners along with information about their projects.

• Highlights of MHSA State Interagency Partners' Meeting Activities Related to Veterans

For more information, please contact suicideprevention@dmh.ca.gov