Oregon Veteran Suicide Rates
Unadjusted 2023 rates per 100,000. VA notes Oregon's age-adjusted Veteran suicide rate was significantly higher than the national general population rate.
Veterans First
Veterans First
Serve those who served. Put veterans first.
Dr. Kahl believes veterans and military families deserve real help after service, including mental health support, housing stability, benefits assistance, and practical care. With family military and Navy ombudsman experience, she understands that service affects the whole family.
Mental Health
Veterans deserve serious support for trauma, stress, suicide prevention, and the challenges that can follow service.
Housing Stability
Homelessness among veterans should be met with urgency, accountability, and practical local solutions.
Benefits That Work
Veterans should not have to fight bureaucracy to receive the care, benefits, and respect they earned.
Veterans First
Veterans deserve more than speeches. They deserve care that works.
Dr. Kahl believes Oregon veterans and military families deserve accessible mental health care, housing support that actually reaches people, responsive casework, and a representative who understands the culture of service.
114
Oregon Veteran suicide deaths reported by VA for 2023.
42.9
Oregon Veteran suicide rate per 100,000 in 2023, compared with 25.5 for Oregon overall.
1,407
Veterans identified as experiencing homelessness in Oregon during the 2024 Point-in-Time count.
55%
Of Oregon veterans experiencing homelessness in 2024 were unsheltered.
Oregon Veteran Homelessness
2024 Oregon Point-in-Time count: 1,407 veterans experiencing homelessness. More than half were unsheltered.
Unsheltered
769 / 55%
Emergency shelter
416 / 30%
Transitional housing
222 / 15%
Mental health access cannot wait.
VA reported 6,398 Veteran suicide deaths nationwide in 2023, averaging 17.5 per day. Among Veterans in VHA care who died by suicide, 60.9% had a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis.
Housing and health are connected.
VA reported that the suicide rate among recent VHA users with homelessness diagnoses was 146% higher than for those without homelessness diagnoses. Stable housing is part of serious Veteran care.
Oregon veterans are still outside.
Oregon identified 1,407 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2024, including 769 unsheltered veterans. Thank-you speeches do not replace housing, benefits navigation, and accessible care.
What Dr. Kahl Wants To Do
- Make support easier to reach. Push for faster access to mental health care, crisis support, and practical help for veterans and families before problems become emergencies.
- Strengthen casework. Help veterans navigate VA benefits, health care, housing programs, and local resources with persistence and respect.
- Demand results. Track whether taxpayer-funded veteran programs reduce homelessness, improve access, shorten delays, and actually serve the people they were created to help.
Source note: Charts use the labeled official rates, counts, and percentages from VA, HUD, Oregon Housing and Community Services, and Portland State University data sources linked below.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, contact the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988, then pressing 1. Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness can contact the VA National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838.