The number of American soldiers committing suicide has increased in recent years. The number of Vet Centers offering counseling and other services to veterans and their families is also increasing.

In 2008, 140 Army soldiers took their own lives — the largest monthly number of suicides ever, said Pentagon Army spokesman, George Wright.

By the end of September of this year, there had been 118 suicides.

The Army has undertaken a number of steps to deal with the issue, Wright said.

Nationwide Stand Down events held earlier this year sought to educate every soldier that suicide is a problem in the Army.

A “chain teaching campaign” talked about suicide prevention through the Army's chain-of-command.

“The vice chief-of-staff says we are no longer in the ‘business as usual' mode,” Wright said. “Every suicide case is reviewed at the Pentagon.”

With each suicide a forum including senior leaders gathers at the Pentagon to discuss warning signals, actions taken by the chain-of-command, and what could have been done differently, Wright said.

A Vet Center was opened in Grand Junction in 2007 to provide counseling and other services to combat veterans and their families. The program, located at 2472 F Road, is part of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

The center's three counselors — Julie Fuller, George Delahanty and Tony Ford — provide individual counseling, marital and family, and bereavement counseling, medical referrals, and help with applying for benefits or job searches. The center also refers veterans with alcohol or drug abuse problems to community resources.

Additionally, the center counsels people suffering from military sexual trauma.

“We're seeing more women and men with military sexual trauma (which includes anything from harassment to assault, or rape),” Fuller said.

The sexual traumas are related to events that happened and were reported during active duty, Fuller said.

Many service members believe not enough was done after they first reported the incident, she said.

Clients find the Vet Center through community outreach efforts and referrals from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The center also receives a half-dozen referrals each week from parents or other family members of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, Fuller said.

Oftentimes it's wives who talk their husbands into coming in for counseling because of trouble with the marriage — which “opens doors to talk about the stresses they may have had in the service,” Fuller said.

The Vet Center program was established by Congress in 1979 to help Vietnam era veterans readjust to civilian life. Since then the program has been extended in response to subsequent armed conflicts.

“We're trying to get the word out we exist and what services we provide,” Fuller said.

Seven more Vet Centers are slated to open in the region, including in Nevada, Arizona and Montana.

“Whenever it's determined there are enough vets in a certain community (in need of services) there's a petition for a new Vet Center through Congress, Fuller said.

Vet Center services are free to eligible veterans.

“We see combat vets from any combat era,” Fuller said.

Non-combat vets who are experiencing crisis won't be turned away — “we'll get them hooked into other resources,” Fuller said.

Four mobile Vet Centers were dispatched to Fort Hood, Texas to offer counseling services at the Army base there after an Army psychiatrist who is said to be distraught at the prospect of deploying to Afghanistan, allegedly gunned down 13 of his fellow soldiers.

Occasionally, the local center is called upon to help veterans contemplating suicide, Fuller said.

The Veteran Affairs' Suicide Prevention campaign has expanded its outreach by piloting a new online, one-to-one “chat service” for veterans who might prefer reaching out for assistance via the Internet.

“Veterans Chat” enables veterans, their families and friends to go online and communicate anonymously with a trained VA counselor. If the “chatter” is deemed to be in crisis, the counselor can take immediate steps to transfer the person to the VA Suicide Prevention Hotline.

The program has been in operation since July.

Veterans Chat can be accessed by clicking the Veterans Chat tab at www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention web site.

The VA Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The local Vet Center can be reached at 245-4156.

Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.