Highlights of new state law to help veterans

A state law effective Jan. 1 requires the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs to take the following steps to decrease veteran suicide:

• Proactively reach out to veterans who served in combat units.

• Create a public information campaign about trauma and internal injuries suffered by veterans, focusing on suicide prevention, education and treatment.

• Provide Mental Health First Aid or similar training to employees of veteran service organizations so they can recognize veterans at risk for suicidal thoughts. Training also must be made available to associations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS.

• Create priority hiring practices to employ combat veterans as veteran service officers.

• Work with colleges and universities to create an educational success program for veterans and decrease environmental factors that hinder some veterans' ability to learn.

• Coordinate with veteran and military organizations to provide a family preparation course about the emotional cycle of returning from deployment to be available to service members' relatives before they return home.

• Develop a transition program for returning veterans with links to resource organizations and services.

• Establish a peer-to-peer program so veterans can assist one another.