Nonprofit Lines for Life launches new help line for veterans struggling with mental health

An Oregon-based nonprofit is opening a new call center Friday to help veterans struggling with mental health issues.

Lines for Life, a 24/7, 365-days-a-year suicide prevention hotline, has expanded its mission to help veterans in need, KATU reports.

“We’ll be cutting the ribbon on a new call center that’s designed to make sure we’re standing up and supporting the veterans who stood up and defended us over the years,” said CEO Dwight Holton.

The new call center will offer free and anonymous help calls and texts for veterans, their family, and their friends struggling with mental health.

The Veterans Association estimates that since 2008, roughly 6,ooo veterans kill themselves each year. This new call center, in partnership with the Veterans Crisis Line, is expected to field about 1,200 additional calls each month.

“Services like this where we’ve got partnerships with national VA and organizations like Lines for Life are essential to helping meeting those mental health crisis needs and helping folks find a way forward and help build strong families among our veterans,” Holton said.

There is a strong need to help care for the mental health of America's veterans. According to the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research, 20 percent of those who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from either major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you are a veteran in need, contact the free military help line at (888) 457-4838. You can also text MIL1 to 839863. Someone is available to talk to you at all hours of the day.

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