WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is unveiling a long-awaited national plan Wednesday to stem a persistently high number of veteran suicides, with wide-ranging initiatives from firearm safety and wellness programs at workplaces to added barriers near railroads and bridges.
The $53 million, two-year effort will include a public messaging campaign starting in the coming weeks to raise awareness about suicide at a time of increased social distancing and isolation during a pandemic.The broad road map also urges outreach by awarding grants to community programs outside the Department of Veterans Affairs, building in part off Trump’s expansion of the private-sector Veterans Choice health program.Still, it remained unclear how much of the plan.