(Indianapolis, IN) - One of the new state laws that went into effect this week is focused on military veterans. It's the "Green Alert."

In 2009, the Indiana General Assembly established the Indiana Clearinghouse for Information on Missing Children, Missing Veterans at Risk, and Missing Endangered Adults. The Clearinghouse serves as a central information resource related to missing persons.

Special alerts were created— Amber for children, Silver for Adults— to notify law enforcement and the public about missing persons. Thanks to legislation passed this year, there is now a Green Alert which indicates that a missing person is an at-risk veteran.

The new alert is particularly important for helping vets who may be having a mental health crisis. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that Indiana's veteran suicide rate is 5% higher than the national average.

The legislation was co-sponsored in the Indiana House by local state rep Rodney Pol.