While it estimated that 22 veterans died from suicide each day in 2010, it also mentioned some big caveats. The study that came up with the figure was released in 2012 by the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Program. That bill is called the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, and it’s named for a young veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who killed himself.īut as it turns out, 22-a-day has little to do with veterans of those wars. It was frequently cited by supporters of a bill to improve mental health care for veterans that President Barack Obama signed into law early this year. It has helped draw more resources for suicide research and prevention. “People don’t want to talk about it, but it’s a real problem.” Flaget told television station WQAD during a stop in Clinton, Iowa.Īnd the statistic has inspired more than just physical challenges. There have been lots of news stories this summer about Marine Corps veteran Toby Flaget, who has been walking from Oregon to New Jersey wearing a t-shirt that says, “22 is 22 too many.” People in California and Texas held 22-kilometer marches, both led by shirtless Marines in shorts carrying packs that weighed 22 kilograms. In some cities, there have been street-corner rallies on the 22nd of each month. “There’s a big plus-or-minus and uncertainty and variability behind that,” Jennings said.Īlmost weekly, there are walks, swims and runs dedicated to raising awareness of the 22 statistic. “That number, if we talk about it out of context, is questionable,” said Keith Jennings, an Iraq war veteran and clinical psychologist who acts as chief science advisor for a Durham, N.C. But the reality behind it, and what it’s doing to the way we think about younger veterans, isn’t simple. That simple, easy-to-grasp, and - in this context - terrible number has become a rallying cry for veterans groups and activists. That’s what a VA study announced in 2013. veterans: 22.Īs in: there are 22 veterans a day who commit suicide. But the reality is complex, and the number can be misleading.Ī single, deeply-troubling number is shaping the way we think about U.S. Veterans advocates, protesters, and even President Obama have cited the statistic that 22 veterans a day kill themselves.
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