National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)launches Veterans Resource Center

 NAMI launches Veterans Resource Center

 Visit NAMI's Veterans Resouce Center (www.nami.org/veterans)
 Add your tribute to the
Veterans Tribute Honor Roll

 Forward this e-mail to those who are veterans or active duty military, and their families

This week, NAMI launched its Veterans Resource Center, an online portal to mental health resources for America's veterans, active duty service members, and their families. In conjunction with this launch, NAMI is providing you with a unique opportunity to honor those who have served and continue to serve our country.

As we approach Veterans Day 2007 as a nation at war,many of our veterans who are returning from active duty face a second war at home, confronting profound mental health problems that challenge their lives and the lives of their families.
Consider these grim statistics:

• Almost 1 in 3 veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq confront mental health problems.
• In 2006, the suicide rate in the Army reached its highest level in 26 years.
• Approximately 30% of veterans treated in the Veterans health system suffer from depressive symptoms, two to three times the rate of the general population.
• More Vietnam veterans have now died from suicide than were killed directly during the war in the 1960s and 70s.
• Approximately 40% of homeless veterans have mental illnesses. Approximately 57% of this group are African American or Hispanic veterans.

In an effort to respond to these issues, NAMI's Veterans Resource Center features a growing compilation of fact sheets, self-help information, online discussion groups, research and policy updates, and links to government agencies and other private organizations. NAMI has made the Center a priority to meet a growing need.
One of the special features of the Veterans Resource Center is the Veterans Tribute Honor Roll. This is a way you can support NAMI's work on behalf of veterans.
Make a donation online, and you will have the opportunity to add your name to the list of those who are supporting better mental health care resources for veterans, active duty service members, and their families.
You may also make your gift in tribute to a veteran, active duty service member, or other loved one, and include a message of support for display on the Roll.
For Veterans Day 2007, let's show our men and women in uniform whose lives are affected by mental illness that they are not alone, and that their fellow Americans stand with them, ready to support them.
Please make a donation today, and add your tribute to the Honor Roll.

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