# Green Star Families Act: What It Does

When a veteran dies by suicide, the people closest to them—their family members and those who cared for them—often face overwhelming grief and trauma. This bill creates a free counseling program specifically designed to help these survivors cope with their loss.

The program will provide counseling services at no cost to the immediate family members of veterans who die by suicide, including spouses, children, parents, and siblings. It also extends support to people who volunteered with veteran service organizations and provided unpaid care to the veteran for at least three months before their death. The Department of Veterans Affairs can partner with other organizations—whether government agencies, state programs, or private counseling services—to deliver these services, as long as they're accessible and meet quality standards.

To make sure people actually know about this help, the VA will publish information about the program on its website and inform eligible survivors about the counseling services available to them. The bill requires the VA to have this program up and running within 90 days of the law passing. Essentially, this is about recognizing that suicide's impact extends far beyond the veteran who dies—it deeply affects their loved ones—and providing mental health support to help families and caregivers process their grief and trauma.

Green Star Families Act

Van Drew, Jefferson

Green Star Families ActThis bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish free counseling services to the next of kin and former volunteer caregivers of veterans who die by suicide. (Generally, Green Star families are families of servicemembers and veterans who have died by suicide.)The VA may provide counseling services under this bill only if the services are reasonably accessible to the eligible individuals and are substantially equivalent or superior to similar services furnished by the VA to such individuals.The VA is authorized to enter into an agreement with a federal, state, or private entity to provide the counseling services.Additionally, the VA must publish information relating to the program online and provide information relating to the program to any eligible individual.