Bend nonprofit The Shield joining trip to D.C. for policy academy on efforts to reduce veteran suicides

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A representative of Central Oregon nonprofit The Shield will be traveling to Washington, D.C., next month with a delegation including staff from the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs.

From April 10-14, The Shield's executive & clinical director will join delegations from several states to participate in a policy academy focused on reducing veteran suicide.

The Shield's mission, according to their website, is to provide effective mental health services to Central Oregon’s veterans and first responders at no cost to them.

"What we do is provide specialized counseling for veterans and first responders in Central Oregon," The Shield's co-founder and executive clinician, Dan Anderson, explained Thursday.

Anderson said he feels the trip to the nation's capital is essential.

"I understand there is going to be about 10 of us, and then there are other delegations from several other states, and we'll all be meeting in Washington D.C.," he said.

The rate at which veterans commit suicide in Deschutes County was a call to action for Anderson and The Shield.

"Veterans are committing suicide at practically double the rate of non-veterans in Central Oregon, so it's a significant problem here," he said.

Logan Bilyeu initially came in to see Anderson for PTSD treatment after serving during the Afghanistan War. Now, Logan has worked his way up from client to president of The Shield.

Bilyeu knows there is still a stigma for vets around getting help, stigmas he's trying to help break.

"It's still taboo," he said. "We're still fighting against a history of, 'Suck it up,' or, 'That's what you signed up to d.' It isn't just your job. It doesn't mean the human psyche was meant to experience it all."

Representatives from Oregon's Department of Veteran Affairs and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will join the policy meetings in the nation's capital next month.

Oregon is one of many states participating.

The inclusion of other groups joining The Shield in Washington D.C. is vital, according to Anderson.

"The idea that there will be multiple states there that'll be sharing amongst the states in terms of best practices and what they have found to work and ideas they have that maybe we haven't considered here," he said.

A lack of providers for mental health services like The Shield in the Central Oregon region make meetings like the one in April all the more important.

Bilyeu says most vets are reluctant to get help, only helping to further the ongoing crisis.

"When they do get to the point when they may reach out or ask or try, you could have wait times up to three, four, five, six months with local counselors who are culturally competent," he said.

Anderson says more providers are needed in the region, to give vets a chance to get proper help.

"Folks who may not have care provided to them, regardless of where the bill is going to," he said. "So that's sort of an example of why we want to make sure the local voice gets heard."

The policy meetings will be hosted by a cooperative of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration and are a part of The Governor's Challenge initiative.

The Governor's Challenge advances a public health approach to suicide prevention by bringing together key state leaders to share best practices with others across the nation and develop strategic action plans focused on veteran suicide prevention.