{"id":57515,"date":"2016-02-15T19:40:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T19:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/02\/15\/calls-to-veterans-suicide-hotline-went-to-voicemail-report-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:41:57","slug":"calls-to-veterans-suicide-hotline-went-to-voicemail-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2016\/02\/15\/calls-to-veterans-suicide-hotline-went-to-voicemail-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls to veterans suicide hotline went to voicemail, report says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At least 23 veterans, troops\u00a0or family members who called the Veterans Crisis Line in fiscal 2014 were transferred to a voicemail system and their calls never returned, according to a Veterans Affairs Department Inspector General report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA watchdog’s investigation into the hotline’s performance launched last year <\/a>also found that the centers responsible for the voicemail errors, who were\u00a0contractors hired to provide backup services when the\u00a0VA-run Crisis Line is operating at peak,\u00a0may not have trained their counselors adequately\u00a0to answer calls from those experiencing\u00a0a\u00a0mental health crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But because the VA does not train the backup center employees\u00a0or monitor the centers’\u00a0training requirements, the department has no way of knowing whether their\u00a0training is sufficient, the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Veterans Crisis Line\u00a0was established in 2007 to address the growing problem of suicide among veterans and service members. It has fielded\u00a0more than 2 million calls\u00a0and is credited with saving more than 50,000 lives.\u00a0An HBO documentary highlighting the life-and-death drama of the VA suicide hotline efforts won an Oscar last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

But as demand has risen for its services, so have the\u00a0number of calls routed to the hotline’s backup facilities: According the inspector general, the number of calls rose by 112 percent from 2013 to 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA OIG launched an investigation into the Veterans Crisis Line in early 2015\u00a0after receiving complaints from callers that they were placed on hold, didn’t receive\u00a0immediate help or their calls went to voicemail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florid<\/span>a., also asked for a report\u00a0on the service after a Florida veteran told the Tampa television station WFTS he was put on hold repeatedly for up to 10 minutes at a time, while he was suicidal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Daigh, VA assistant inspector general for health care inspections, said his office could not substantiate that veterans were placed\u00a0on hold because neither the Veterans Crisis Line staff nor the backup center managers monitor information on how long calls stayed in backup center queues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Daigh did find that some veterans who reached a backup center were\u00a0transferred to a voicemail system. And according to the VA OIG, staff members at that\u00a0backup center were unaware they had a voicemail system, and\u00a0the calls weren’t returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA OIG staff made a number of recommendations to ensure that veterans receive better service from the Veterans Crisis Line.\u00a0They include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n