What started as a pilot between the VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and higher education institutions took on a life of its own. In 2011, the VA launched the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program to provide a support bridge with health care benefits, academic accommodations, and mental health services to student veterans. It was originally funded as a three-year pilot and now exists as a facility-based, flexible option dependent on resources to continue.
The VITAL program is not a mandated VA program with centralized funding or policies. Therefore, this means that the management and overarching decision to start or stop VITAL is localized at VAMC facilities. Based on the VA VITAL Program Sites locator, only a few states, like New York, have a large number of sites, whereas others have very few. Furthermore, 54% of states have no VITAL sites at all, with only one designated VITAL online program site.
According to Elizabeth Louer, the National Program Coordinator, VITAL & Peer Support Services, VITAL staff may be occasionally reassigned from a campus to a nearby VA facility depending on local needs, and these movements are not reported since it is not mandated policy. Their data, gathered in 2022, estimated that VA medical centers had spent a cumulative amount of approximately $5.2 million on the VITAL program. Approximately 30 VITAL programs are still in operation today.
The VITAL Correlation Between Higher Education and Veteran Well-Being
The goal of the VITAL program is to help veterans transition to academic life. Colleges and universities often provide a soft landing for transitioning military members, particularly as they look for purpose and belonging following their service commitment. Higher education institutions tend to be community pillars, providing social programs, workforce partnerships, and economic security. They prepare students for the workforce and work with employers, having established community relationships. Additionally, they offer campus training, resources, and opportunities for students to connect, including access to veteran service organizations.
The difference between VITAL and VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) is that VITAL provides more direct healthcare support and on-campus treatment, whereas VSOC counselors are not licensed clinicians but VA Vocational Rehabilitation professionals. Their support is broader in terms of referral support, benefits, and assistance with educational and employment goals, and VSOC is not being considered for a reduction or change. Both programs focus on transitioning military service members with overlapping goals in many areas, such as disability accommodations, VA benefits, and mentoring.
VITAL programs promote education and training, community, and easier access to healthcare and counseling services. Its mission is to help veterans reach their goals by removing obstacles via collaboration between the VAMC and higher education. This includes the following:
- Connecting veterans to appropriate services on campus and within the VA system
- Providing education and training to faculty and staff about veterans' needs in the academic setting
- Participating in outreach to student veterans and campus and community partners, coordinating peer mentoring for student veterans
- Providing mental health treatment to veterans on campus
VITAL Program
The steady rate of veteran suicide has shown how important it is to establish environments of connection, care, and peer relationships. The Defense Suicide Prevention Office’s lines of effort to address this ongoing concern include fostering a supportive environment, improving the delivery of mental health care, addressing stigma and other barriers to care, revising suicide prevention training, and promoting a culture of lethal means safety practices. As veterans face challenges related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress, and anxiety, the adjustment that comes with transition to civilian life can compound the issue. According to RAND, common diagnoses for veterans committing suicide were PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
The VA's 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report stated that veteran suicide prevention is the VA's highest clinical priority. It lists focus areas to expand the network of care and support. The VITAL program in higher education provides:
- Enhancing mental health care access across a full continuum of care
- Building and sustaining community collaborations
- Tailoring prevention and intervention services
Future of VA VITAL
Currently, VAMC facilities are operating VITAL programs in partnership with colleges and universities in less than half of the country. Some are shifting personnel away from on-campus support due to staffing and resource changes, such as Texas A&M, whereas other universities, like Western Governors University, are finding success by utilizing an online model, including suicide prevention and military sexual trauma assistance.
The future of the VA VITAL program is based on the discretion of individual VAMC leadership and funding. It is clear, though, that VITAL can directly contribute to the Defense Suicide Prevention Office’s objectives to improve the coordination of mental health care and remove barriers by continuing its partnerships with universities and colleges where on-site resources and opportunities for real human connection are more readily available.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the VA. Questions and assistance can be directed to vavital@va.gov to reach a VITAL Program Coordinator.
