LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - The Trump administration wants to ensure veterans have a smoother transition to life as a civilian.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday, January 10, with the hopes of improving mental health resources for veterans by providing up to a year of mental health treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department after being discharged.
The administration hopes this will reduce the alarming rate of veterans that commit suicide every day.
Marilyn Williams, who counsels veterans dealing with depression and P-T-S-D, said this executive order is important because of difficult it is for veterans to adjust to life back in the states.
"They're prepared to go to war but they are not prepared to come out of it," said Williams. "It's really important to get them during the first year to let them know what they're experiencing is normal in an abnormal circumstance.''
Veterans like David Frank agree, who served for 4 years including a tour in Iraq.
"We call them soldiers but they're still people too," said Frank. "Certain thing affects the mental psyche of people period. It doesn't matter what you're taught and how strong you are some things are going to affect you because you're human."
Frank believes it might actually be a better idea to evaluate a soldier's mental state before being deployed, but for now, this order is a good start.
"Sometimes the PTSD experience could happen early deployment or mid-deployment."
The new order will cost about $200 million a year to implement.
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