‘Every veteran suicide is a tragedy’ Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs wants the military to feel ‘best version of themselves'

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer has said that "every veteran suicide is a tragedy" after being asked if he was "embarrassed" by the latest figures that showed that 60 per cent of veterans found it difficult to ask for help.

Mercer explained that he is "proud" of the progress in the past 20 years with people "coming forward and asking for help".

He said: "It's not an embarrassment. It's not where I want it to be.

"We work night and day in this place to try and make it easier to understand, easier to access, better joined up, so you don't have to go around and tell your story several times."

He added: "I think when I started a long time ago now it was a different concept coming forward and asking for help with your mental health than it is today.

"And we should be proud of that. The way it's changed both within the military but also outside the military.

"There is always more to do. And no one's going to sit there and say, look, we're completely happy with this progress.

"We're not going to sit on our laurels and say we're not going to do anymore.

"Every single veteran suicide is a tragedy, not only for the individual, for their family, but also us as a nation.

"People who leave the military, I want them to go away from that, completely boosted by their time in the military and the best version themselves.

"I don't want them going away from that in the states that some of them do.

"So we will keep driving down this hole until everybody knows about courage.

"Everyone knows that the programs that are there, they do work, you can get better and life can get back to normal."

He also discussed how the Junior Doctors strikes have affected veterans in England.

​He said: "This doctor's strike at the hardest time of year is something I profoundly disagree with.

"The Prime Minister has made clear his mission on inflation.

"We need to get this sorted out because actually when people aren't on strike those waiting lists are coming down and that's what people want to see from their Government."

from GB News https://ift.tt/WERke59