Suicide, which kills over 45,000 Americans each year, is a leading cause of death in the United States. But it doesn't affect all people equally. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that the suicide rate for veterans is 1.5 times the rate for non-veteran adults. Although suicide has no single cause and is influenced by a range of risk factors – financial stress, a divorce or breakup, depression, anxiety, addiction, or pain – America's veterans have been hit exceptionally hard by suicide. And veteran suicide rates are complicated and burdened by both stigma and treatment hurdles.
