New Veteran Mental Health Legislation Named After Johnston Native

JOHNSTON, RI—U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced on Thursday that he has introduced a bipartisan bill that would better support the mental health needs of service members and veterans as they return home, naming it in honor of two Marines including a Johnston native.

The Daniel J. Harvey Jr. and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act, also sponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) would create a new pilot program within the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to provide more information and counseling to veterans regarding mental health services available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The bill was named in honor of two Marines who lost their lives to post-traumatic stress disorder, including Johnston native Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Harvey Jr., a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan after enlisting in the Marines in 2010 and passed away in 2015 at the age of 22.

“Johnston’s own Lance Corporal Daniel Harvey Jr. was a hero to Rhode Islanders and to our nation. Our community lost Lance Corporal Harvey long before his time,” said Whitehouse in a press release. “We have to do better by servicemembers who return home bearing invisible wounds of war. Every veteran should have easy access to the very best care—for both mental and physical health—that this nation has to offer.”

The program would include more discussion related to possible loss of community or identity crises while transitioning to civilian life and veterans would be provided with information regarding the mental health resources available through the VA, said the press release. The bill would also require a VA social worker or mental health professional to reach out within 90 days of transitioning to set up an appointment.

The legislation would initially establish the pilot program at ten different Transition Assistance Center locations for five years, after which the Secretaries of Defense and VA would assess whether to expand it to other locations.