Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone says the county will embark on an outreach program to help veterans battling PTSD.

The program will include direct mailings to veterans' homes and more veterans services officers available to help.

"We have seen a rise in PTSD-related suicide happening, and that is something that I think every American would look at and say, 'that is an American tragedy,'" said Bellone.

The county will be able to put veterans in touch with organizations that can help them, such as the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project.

Mary Stea, of Commack, who lost her son to PTSD-related suicide was on-hand for the announcement. She wants to make sure that other veterans and their families get the help that Army Spc. Daniel Stea never received.

"If we were able to catch it right from the beginning, it would have made a world of difference," said Stea.

Suffolk County has the largest veteran population of any county in New York state.