Press Releases

Last week, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen of the President’s PREVENTS Task Force released the following statements after meeting with local organizations, focusing on suicide prevention, in the Congressman’s home district in East Tennessee:

“It was my pleasure to welcome Dr. Van Dahlen to East Tennessee [today] and to introduce her to the many individuals and organizations here who are stepping up to serve and support their neighbors in need. I am so proud of our community and know the important, life-saving work happening here can serve as an example to others across the country who are struggling to prevent suicide and address deep-seated issues in their backyards,” said Roe. “Visiting with Dr. Van Dahlen and these local organizations today and hearing about the work the Trump Administration is doing through the PREVENTS Task Force also reaffirmed for me that ending the national suicide crisis – for veterans and for all Americans – requires a community-wide approach. This approach needs to leverage the best of the public and private sector to connect individuals who are struggling with the care and help they need. That is the goal of the bipartisan IMPROVE Act and I remain hopeful we will see this bill on the President’s desk shortly.”

“I would like to thank Congressman Roe for the invitation to join him and community leaders to learn about the critical work that is being done in East Tennessee to prevent suicide. The coordination and collaboration we are seeing here is key because no organization or agency can do this work alone – but together we can prevent suicide,” said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, PREVENTS Executive Director.  “Here in Tennessee and around the country, we are seeing our Veterans, our service members and their families stepping up to lead the way as we tackle this national tragedy. We thank them for their service and their leadership as we change the culture around mental health in general and suicide.”

To learn more about the IMPROVE Act, as introduced, click here.

Background:

On March 5, 2019, President Trump signed the Presidential Executive Order on the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS). This Executive Order established a Task Force to develop a roadmap to empower veterans and end suicide within one year.