STATE AFFAIRS PASSES BILLS TO SUPPORT VETERANS

DENVER, CO– The House State, Civic, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee today advanced two bills sponsored by Rep. David Ortiz that will support veterans in Colorado.

“With over 400,000 veterans calling Colorado home, our state is known as a great place for veterans to settle down after military service,” said Rep. David Ortiz, D-Littleton. “The bill we passed today recognizes that there’s more work we need to do to ensure that every veteran in Colorado has access to the behavioral health care they need. By creating a suicide prevention pilot program, we can connect more veterans with the critical services they need to thrive.”

SB21-129, sponsored by Representative David Ortiz, would create a veteran suicide prevention pilot program in the Department of Human Services to reduce the suicide rate and suicidal ideation among veterans. The program would provide free, confidential behavioral health treatment for up to 700 veterans and their families. Services would be provided through agreements with nonprofit organizations.