Military Families Say Mental Health Legislation For Servicemembers Will Help Them, Too

Military families say legislation authored by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly aimed at providing more local mental health care for servicemembers and veterans will help not just soldiers, but their loved ones too. 

Donnelly’s bill helps ensure servicemembers find quality local mental health providers by creating a special “servicemember-friendly” designation.  Facilities would earn the label by receiving training in military issues and familiarizing themselves with military culture. 

Kathy Broniarczyk is the outreach director at Purdue’s Military Family Research Institute, which provides the kind of training Donnelly’s bill involves.  She says the institute’s training seminars stress that providers can’t focus solely on the servicemembers alone.

“We train the providers to talk about and understand that impact of deployment on every single person that that servicemember is connected to,” Broniarczyk said.

Andrea Carlile’s husband dealt with mental health issues following his deployment overseas.  She says providing an easy way for servicemembers and their families to find local help can make a huge difference.

“The families can be more involved and honestly no one knows a spouse in trouble more than the ones that are living with them,” Carlile said.

Donnelly’s bill has been included in the this year’s version of the national defense act, which has been approved every year for more than a half century.