With Suicide Prevention month coming to an end, we want to highlight one of our partner agencies who work to prevent suicide EVERY month of the year. If you are reading this, there is a good chance that suicide has affected your life in some way. Whether losing a loved one to suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts and ideations yourself. It is well known that a disproportionate number of veterans and service members are lost to suicide every year in the United States. A study by the CDC found that, on average, 130 suicides are committed every day in America, and 13% of those suicides are committed by veterans. Here at Home Front Military Network, we want you to know that there is help out there. Many factors can lead a person to the decision to take their life, and there is no single cause of suicide. Factors can include undiagnosed mental illness, substance abuse disorder, relational or familial problems, economic crisis, lack of community, and physical health problems. Suicide prevention must be holistic, and that is one reason why Home Front Military Network is passionate about helping our clients holistically through our nearly fifty community partnerships. You nor your loved one do not have to suffer alone.
Our partners at Give an Hour are passionate about preventing suicide in our military and veteran community and have put together comprehensive resources highlighting the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. Give an Hour was founded in 2005 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing no-cost counseling to service members, veterans, and their families. Through a network of mental-health professionals, Give an Hour is now able to serve victims of mass violence, interpersonal violence, individuals impacted by the opioid crisis, and more. The team at Give an Hour has created a Suicide Prevention Education page to provide resources for our community.
Resources on the page include:
- Accessing Mental Health Care
- The Five Signs someone is emotionally suffering
- Healthy Habits
- Ways you can take action to prevent suicide
- Social media banners to spread awareness
- The Warning Signs of Suicide
- How to Talk to Someone About Suicide
- Links to the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Lifeline pages
We must all do our part and check in on our loved ones who are struggling and getting educated is a great place to start. Our military community faces unique challenges that are hard to understand for those who have not experienced combat themselves. That is why Give and Hour offers mental health care specifically for Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve, and Veterans.
Asking for help is the first step, and it can be one of the hardest ones. The 988-suicide prevention line was created as a way to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to reach out, call for help, or let a friend know that you are struggling. Your life matters; your family member’s life matters; your friend’s life matters.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed please call or email us today. We have a wide array of partners that can assist with many different services to provide holistic healing for our military and veteran families and put a stop to the 12th leading cause of death in the United States.
Resources:
- https://giveanhour.org/suicideprevention/
- https://988lifeline.org/help-yourself/veterans/
- https://afsp.org/
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 24). Reducing military and veteran suicide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/washington/testimony/2022/t20220615.htm#:~:text=Tragically%2C%20out%20of%20the%20130,encounter%20in%202018%20or%202019.
Suicide prevention. Give an Hour. (2022, September 7). Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://giveanhour.org/suicideprevention/