SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Some Illinois lawmakers are using this week of Veterans Day to hear about the health challenges of men and women in uniform, and how the state can help.
At an Illinois House committee hearing, members heard about the growing concern of veteran suicides.
Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Acting Director Terry Prince says some new federal funding should help address that.
“Among those items planned for these critical dollars include veteran-specific mental health training for our key employees, as well as for our community based partners,” said Prince, “as well as working with a nationally-renowned mental health expert to bring innovative programming and services to Illinois.”
Also from that hearing, State Representative Anna Moeller says a lack of communication about veterans services is a problem, especially among younger veterans.
“Traditionally, in prior eras, you had veterans organizations that served in that capacity,” said Moeller (D-Elgin). “As we have an aging population and different demographics of veterans in the more modern era, those organizations are not serving as much of a supporting role as they used to.”
Another concern brought up at the hearing was what some veterans say is a lack of access to medical marijuana at the state’s veterans homes.
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