Regional Offices, SAMHSA.gov
Good morning,
With Independence Day approaching, we reflect on our nation’s freedom and honor our military service members and veterans. At this time, it is also important to consider the behavioral health of those who serve or have served our country. Active military, veterans, and military families are all at risk for developing mental and/or substance use disorders. Since September 11, 2001, more than 2.3 million American military personnel have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, or both. Although the vast majority of returning service members successfully transition back home, 18.5 percent of returning service members do meet criteria for either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression. Unless treated, these types of behavioral health issues have far-reaching and damaging consequences. Already this year, there have been 154 military suicides; compared with 10 years ago this number has doubled . While the behavioral health system has made strides to meet the needs of these military service members and their families, there is more work to be done.
To address this important issue and open a dialogue, Recovery Month will host a Twitter chat on July 9 from 1:00–2:00 p.m. EDT. We invite you to join us for the discussion, " Access to Behavioral Health Care for Military Service Members, Veterans and Their Families.”
Co-hosts Kathryn Power, SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiative Lead for Military Families and Regional Administrator for Region 1 , and Stephanie Weaver, MSG, National Guard Liaison to SAMHSA, will answer questions and share their expertise about behavioral health problems that affect service members and veterans. They will also address how we can improve the system, so that it better serves our military service members and their families. We encourage you to join us and discuss your thoughts on the behavioral health system for military families. You can participate in the conversation by using the designated hashtag #RecoveryChat at the end of each tweet.
Regional Offices, SAMHSA.gov
If you are unable to join the chat, feel free to tweet questions to @RecoveryMonth in advance, using the hashtag #RecoveryChat . Also, if you don’t have a Twitter account, but would still like to participate, you can post your thoughts on the Recovery Month Facebook Page (
Recovery Month | Facebook ) or email your questions to recoverymonthfan@samhsa.hhs.gov in advance of the chat. If you would like to learn more about the Twitter chat topic, visit http://1.usa.gov/OnqabR .
If you are new to Twitter chats, use the following steps to sign up and participate.
- Create a Twitter account at Twitter.com .
- Search for the @RecoveryMonth Twitter page and click follow.
- Sign in to your Twitter account on July 9 at 1:00 p.m. EDT and search #RecoveryChat in Twitter’s search bar.
- Save the #RecoveryChat search term to follow the ongoing dialogue.
- To signify your participation in the Twitter chat, tweet your comment or question and include the hashtag #RecoveryChat . Then hit refresh to view your tweet.
We appreciate your support and hope you will be able to participate!
Thank you,
Ivette Torres
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