Lawmakers propose more mental health support for veterans, agency notes funding challenges

Rep. William Bruck (R-Erie) testifies before the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee. | Kyle Davidson

On Tuesday, members of the Michigan House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee continued discussion on a set of bills to expand mental health care for veterans, creating a new Office of Mental Health and Suicide alongside improving outreach and resources available.

While bill sponsors Reps. Christine Morse (D-Texas Twp.), Felicia Brabec (D-Pittsfield Twp.), William Bruck (R-Erie) and Bob Bezotte (R-Howell) discussed their policies at the previous committee meeting, the panel continued to take testimony from organizations supporting veterans and the armed forces.

U.S. veterans are at increased risk for suicide, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs annual report on suicide prevention. In 2021, suicide was the 13th-leading cause of death for veterans overall, and the second-leading cause of death among veterans under age 45-years-old.

In Michigan, 171 veterans died by suicide in 2021 according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In the same year, 46,421 former service members in the U.S. died by suicide. 

Alcohol and substance use can also increase the risk of suicide, with more than one in ten veterans being diagnosed with a substance use disorder, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

In order to address mental health and substance use disorders among Michigan veterans, House Bill 5276 places the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention into state law, and would require the office to collect data on various efforts to address veteran mental health and substance abuse, alongside publishing a mental health and wellness resource guide, adopt a mental health self assessment for veterans and service members, and submit an annual report on the data it collects as well as its distribution of resource guides. 

House Bill 5720, requires the the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to ensure members of the National Guard and other military service members have access to the resource guide at no cost in both print and electronic formats. 

House Bill 5277 would require the MVAA to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to perform outreach on mental health and offer resources on substance abuse for service members and their families. 

House Bill 5279 would create peer support program between veterans and current service members, while House Bill 5280 would require the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to develop the “Transition Bridge program” for service members and veterans, focusing on mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and bridging the gap between military and civilian life. 

Members of Reason for Hope, American Legion Department of Michigan, the National Guard Association of Michigan and the MVAA shared their support for the five bills before the committee, although some shared concerns on how the new programs created by the bills would impact operations within the veterans affairs agency.

MVAA Director Brian Love expressed support for the bills, but pointed to a number of challenges in implementing them with the agency’s current funding and capabilities. 

Love noted that while the state budget for Fiscal Year 2024 had allowed the MVAA to create an Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, it does not currently have the capacity to collect data and administer grants as required by House Bill 5276.  

The agency’s staffing and funding also limits its ability to develop, publish and distribute a resource guide, Love said.

Love also voiced concern about the requirement that MVAA work with the Department of Health and Human Services.

He also noted the agency’s current buddy-to-buddy program, which would be put into law by House Bill 5279, is currently run by one full time employee, who also works on other projects. The program also relies entirely on volunteers and recruiting those volunteers has been challenging, with the MVAA planning to launch a recruitment campaign later this year, Love said.

While Love also shared support for House Bill 5280, noting the agency’s excitement to see a program educating service members on mental health and wellbeing alongside the value of partnering with outside stakeholders, this bill also carries its own challenges. 

With its current funding the MVAA would need to rely heavily on partnerships for programming and financial support to successfully develop and implement the Transition Bridge program. The agency also has limited access to service member records, which makes connecting service members with a program two months before or after separating from the armed forces — as required by the bill —  a very difficult task, Love said. 

“I want to restate the Michigan Veterans Affairs agency supports these bills and is eager to work with the legislature to ensure we are all able to achieve the goals outlined,” Love said.

Rep. Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor), who chairs the committee, acknowledged the bills would be a heavy lift, and that additional funding would likely be needed.

“Those are ongoing discussions as we kind of see where you need that extra help, too,” she said. 

The committee adjourned without voting on the bills. 

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