WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced the Senate unanimously passed her bipartisan resolution to designate June 2014 as National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month.

The resolution aims to raise awareness about the challenges many veterans with post-traumatic stress face, and reduce the stigma associated with it to help encourage more employers to hire these veterans and help them transition. Since 2001, more than half of all veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars treated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been diagnosed with at least one mental health condition, and more than one-third with post-traumatic stress.

“The mental strains of war on our servicemembers and veterans are enormous, and so many cases go unreported or undiagnosed. I hear the stories of these struggles all across North Dakota, and most recently at my Native American Veterans Summit in Bismarck,” said Heitkamp. “This resolution is a small step, but it’s about raising awareness about the challenges confronting many of our veterans with post-traumatic stress. And to truly help reduce the stigma associated with it, we need to stop calling it a ‘disorder’ and start a national conversation about how we talk about helping veterans recover. There is no weakness from having post-traumatic stress. In fact, it shows strength to come forward and seek out help. We need to treat it that way.”

Since joining the Senate, Heitkamp has been a vocal leader in raising awareness about post-traumatic stress and has worked to improve treatment and understanding of mental health injuries across the nation. Heitkamp’s resolution supports efforts by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Defense, and the medical community to educate servicemembers, veterans, their families, and the general public about causes, symptoms, and treatment for post-traumatic stress. This was the second straight year that Heitkamp guided a PTSD Awareness Month resolution through the Senate.

Earlier this month, Heitkamp hosted a Native American Veterans Summit in Bismarck to connect Native veterans with the resources, support, and benefits they earned. She brought together top Administration officials, including the U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewel, Native veterans, community leaders, and VA and Indian Health Service officials to engage in an open dialogue about the challenges veterans face and what can be done to correct them. Last year, to better understand the unique issues facing North Dakota veterans, Heitkamp toured the state and held roundtables in six cities to hear directly from veterans about the obstacles they face.

The bipartisan resolution is cosponsored by Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Mark Begich (D-AK), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Al Franken (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Bob Casey (D-PA), John Walsh (D-MT) Mike Crapo (R-ID), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

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