Army veteran Lisa Silberstein struggled for years with post-traumatic stress disorder before she committed suicide in her home this past Veterans Day. She was 37.

"I think she felt like her life didn't have purpose anymore because her mental state was holding her back," said Silberstein's sister, Cindy Dubuque of Hartford. "When she couldn't serve and she couldn't be out there protecting people, she felt like she had less value. And I think that the PTSD, probably coupled with depression, is probably what led up to it."

After Silberstein's suicide, and that of another female veteran a few weeks later, state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz went back through the records to figure out how many others there could be.

Schwartz found 12 to 14 veterans this year who were known to have committed suicide - or for whom there was a strong likelihood that they did - who were buried in the state's veterans' cemeteries. She said there could be more that the department is not aware of.

"It was shocking to me," Schwartz said.

The rate of suicide within the military has traditionally been much lower than in the general population, once the general rate is adjusted for age and gender since the military is predominantly made up of young men. The military rate began to increase in 2004, and in 2008 - after years of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan - it surpassed that of the general U.S. population.

More than 4,500 soldiers and airmen in the Connecticut National Guard have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. Few have not deployed at all and some have deployed more than once.

"There will be issues, there will be things that pop up," said Col. John Whitford, the Guard spokesman. "That's why they receive a number of briefings before they go, while they're deployed and when they return."

A 47-year-old sergeant first class in the Connecticut National Guard committed suicide in May- the first suicide of a Guardsman since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Guard. He had served in Afghanistan.

A sergeant and a staff sergeant, both 27, committed suicide in July. They had deployed to Iraq.

Pvt. Sammuel M. Mercouriou, a Connecticut National Guard soldier from Suffield, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Dec. 8. Mercouriou, 18, is not included in the Guard's count of the number of suicides because he was on active-duty orders and under the command of Fort Benning in Georgia at the time.

'Coaching into Care'

The holiday season can be difficult, especially in hard economic times, Schwartz said. She said she worries that the issues that some service members and veterans are facing could get worse.

"This is the time of year when a lot of things you can put by the wayside and not deal with actually come popping up," she said.

The state offers behavioral health services to soldiers and their family members but Schwartz said many people don't know about them.

The hotline for the Military Support Program is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it is answered by a person, not a recording. Clinicians throughout the state have been trained to work specifically with the military. Counseling is free for those who can't afford it.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs launched a program this year called "Coaching Into Care," which helps veterans' relatives figure out what to say so their loved one will get the help he or she needs. The National Guard also offers a variety of counseling services.

More than 100 veterans receiving care from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System earlier this fall were considered at a high risk for suicide, according to a suicide prevention coordinator for the VA.

"If we didn't have these services we'd be trying to create them, but we do have them," Schwartz said. "We can't do enough to get the word out. The Military Support Program is well organized and does its job, but a lot of times people have never heard of it."

Schwartz said she was disturbed to learn of Silberstein's death on Veterans Day.

"Here we were having all these celebrations and parades for veterans, and one felt so alone that she took her own life," she said. "There are many meanings in that. Then that was followed just a few weeks later by another suicide, a woman veteran with children. You say to yourself, this is out of the ordinary."

PTSD claim denied

Silberstein served in the Army from 1993 to 2002. She deployed to Bosnia, where she was held at gunpoint by children trying to steal her food, and she began to suffer from survivor's guilt after several of her friends died in a fire in the mess hall, her sister said. Another close friend later died in Afghanistan.

"One of her biggest things was that a lot of times people didn't recognize Bosnia as a war. It was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission," she said. "But she saw many atrocities when she was there and it was a very real experience for her."

Silberstein filed a claim for VA compensation for PTSD but it was denied, Dubuque said. Silberstein had trouble finding work after returning to her hometown, Hamden, to live with her fiancé in the spring. She was previously working as a corrections officer in Arizona.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed that Silberstein filed a claim but said she could not discuss it because of privacy rules.

Dubuque said she wants service members and veterans to know that there is no shame in asking for help. Relatives of veterans who are suffering should not stop trying to reach out, even if they encounter stiff opposition, she added.

"There's this stigma. People think it's a sign of weakness and I think it takes real strength and courage to ask for help," Dubuque said.

She said she remembers her sister repeatedly saying that she didn't want to go outside because it was too cold the last time they spoke. Dubuque suggested she go to a doctor. She now wonders if she could have done more.

"She was so resistant to everything and I just didn't know how to help her," Dubuque said. "I didn't think she was suicidal. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough.

"Sometimes I feel like I let her down."

j.mcdermott@theday.com

For more information

The Military Support Program can be reached at (866) 251-2913

The state's Department of Veterans' Affairs information line is (866) 928-8387

2-1-1, Connecticut's free information and referral service, has a new list of resources for active-duty military, military families and veterans

Information about Coaching Into Care can be found at www.mirecc.va.gov/coaching