Courtesy of Congressman Scott Peters:
Dr. Howard and Jean Somers, residents of Coronado, have been advocates for reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs since losing their son to suicide in 2013. Suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), Sergeant Daniel Somers took his own life in 2013 after a long wait for individual VA treatment. Sgt. Somers requested individual treatment for PTS, even though the wait list was longer than group therapy, out of fear that he might reveal classified information in a group setting.
In February, I helped pass H.R. 2915, a bipartisan measure that will improve mental health care for veterans who took part in classified missions during their service. Improving treatment procedures for veterans with classified mission experience was one of many proposals that the Somers offered to Congress following the suicide of their son.
As a country we have failed too many of our veterans, and their families, who sacrificed so much to serve and returned home with unseen battle scars. These changes will make a real difference in the lives of veterans anguished by mental scars from their brave service.
The Somers remain tireless advocates for the VA to fix its system, and I will continue to work on issues affecting military families, like addressing the problem of family members not being aware of the rigors and hardships of military service and the services available to service members and their families to help them cope. For more information, please contact my San Diego office (858-455-5550) or my Washington D.C. office (202-225-0508).
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