As Suicide Prevention Month 2019 draws to a close, we can ask ourselves…what steps are we taking to reduce the number of service members, veterans, and their families that die by suicide? When I saw “we,” I don’t mean we as a nation. I mean we as a community. Read more…
A single drumbeat, by a solitary drummer, will not create enough noise to shake the rafters of a nation. It could, though. If joined by enough drummers, beating with different rhythms for different reasons, at different paces and with beats strong and soft, these beats will join together to create Read more…
This is the sixth of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. When we’re talking about reducing service member, veteran, and military family (SMVF) suicide, we have to acknowledge the fact Read more…
This is the sixth of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. Not all suicide prevention methods are without controversey. Whether they should or shouldn’t be isn’t important; the fact is Read more…
This is the fifth of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. Several years ago, a veteran walked into their local Vet Center the Friday after Christmas. They’d been out of Read more…
This is the fourth of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. In the last year before I retired from the Army, I was an instructor for a suicide prevention and Read more…
This is the third of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. I have seen this over and over again: a veteran’s psychological wellbeing is directly tied to their economic wellbeing. Read more…
This is the second of a series of posts looking at how to impact the veteran suicide epidemic using a public health approach. You can see the original overview post here. As a mental health professional, one of the most common things that I hear from veterans is that they Read more…
The veteran suicide epidemic is persistent, and growing. Within a five day period from the 6th to the 10th of April, the end result of the nation’s inability to adequately address this problem was on full display. Three veterans took their own lives in a highly visible way, in a Read more…
September is National Suicide Awareness Month. In a recent conversation, an acquaintance questioned the need for all of these “awareness months.” Why a specific month for checking on your buddy? Why not all the time? Absolutely correct, of course, but having a specific time period that brings it into the Read more…