COLUMBIA, Mo. (KFVS) – On Veterans Day, we honor service members for their sacrifice, but we often forget the battles they face when they return home.

Missouri’s veteran suicide rate is one of the highest in the nation. The hardships veterans face don’t stop when they come home. Seven out of 100 veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and thousands of veterans commit suicide each year, according to the study. US Department of Veterans Affairs. However, the state is investing resources to help veterans.

A wreath at the Memorial Student Union on the University of Missouri campus honors Missourians who have served in the armed forces this Veterans Day. The speaker for the event, Col. Lindsey Decker is still serving in the Missouri Army National Guard.

“Service members have stood guard over our freedoms often at great personal cost,” Decker said. “They left the comfort of their homes to face unknown dangers.”

This year, the governor signed a new law which hopes to decrease the number of suicides among veterans. It adds improving the mental health of veterans as a fourth core mission of the Missouri Veterans Commission, opening the door for research and treatment. In addition to this bill, lawmakers also appropriated $120,000 in the state budget this year to hire additional positions at the Veterans Commission focused solely on mental health.

“Programs that support veterans are really important,” Decker said. “Veterans have many different needs. So I’m very proud of our state for promoting veterans programs and providing them to our veterans.”

In addition to state resources, veterans can find mental health help in other places. The University of Missouri offers counseling to student veterans.

“Our mental health professionals who work here in our student mental health center go through training and what they call prevention partners to identify some of the different struggles that our service members might be going through,” said Keith Glindemann from the University of Missouri Veterans Affairs Center.

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