Michigan legislation to support current and former members of the armed forces with their mental health needs is set to receive a House committee hearing Tuesday.
One bill in the package would create the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention within the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency.
Representative Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor) sponsors the bill. She also chairs the House Military, Veterans, and Homeland Security Committee.
Conlin said the ideas for the legislation came from listening sessions the committee held with service members last year.
“They talked about just how isolated they feel when they come out of the military because nobody can really relate to their experiences that they’ve had except for other people who have served,” Conlin said.
From that came the idea for her bill, as well as others to create a peer-to-peer program to connect national guard and military reserves members with veterans who can guide them, a program to ease the transition from military to civilian life, and to involve the state health department in those efforts.
Another bill in the package would offer free access to mental health and wellness services to servicemembers in Michigan.
Last year, Representative Will Bruck (R-Erie) came home from military service himself. His bill in the package would create the Azimuth Bridge Program to aid in that transition.
Bruck said when servicemembers are heading home, they can receive an influx of information all at once which can be overwhelming.
He said that can contribute to veterans overlooking mental health when coming home from duty.
“A veteran’s goal is just to get back home. They’re thinking of nothing else but getting back home. And anything that delays, slows it down, causes someone to question whether you need — whether it’s physical or mental assistance, you’re going to forgo that just to get home,” Bruck said.
He said the package would address that by evaluating veterans’ needs once they get back and feel less stressed. From there, Bruck said, resources closer to home can reach out to them with help and follow up in a better way than federal resources could.
At the federal level, Bruck said, “they’re worried about the next person that’s coming on to orders to go on deployment. So, once you leave, you’re gone and you’re out of their visibility. Where here, the state is coming in and I believe it’s fulfilling a need of that after effect of when you come home.”
Overall, the legislation aims to reduce instances of veteran suicide and self-harm.
Tuesday’s hearing before the House Military, Veterans, and Homeland Security Committee is taking place at noon.
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