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More veterans die from suicide than combat, local orgs finding new ways to prevent it


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DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF)--Brown University reports significantly more U.S. service members have died by suicide than in combat since 9/11.

The Springfield Soup Kitchen and Montgomery County’s Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (MCADAMHS) are working to prevent local veterans from falling into the grim statistic.



More than 50 years ago, Fred Stegner, president of the Springfield Soup Kitchen served in the Vietnam War and hunted down Soviet nuclear submarines. Stegner was a naval aviation officer and went on to become a training tactical coordinator. He served for five years and was stationed all over the world.

“It all sounds like fun but it wasn't fun. It was every day, missions for nine days straight then you get a day off to do your laundry. So it was tough. I had a couple of close encounters, but a lot of what I did was classified. There were members who were stationed over there, many suicides, and they didn't know what to call it, and then they came up with post-traumatic stress syndrome,” said Stegner.

Stegner feeds roughly 300 in-need a week, and around 30 of them are veterans. Stegner said a handful of them are homeless and suffer from addiction, but explained there’s an immense stigma around seeking PTSD treatment. Stegner said the soup kitchen oftentimes ends up being their last hope, now he’s providing peer support and mental health clinics.

“It's tough because a lot of them are on drugs, they're strung out on drugs, trying to beat PTSD and there's there was one guy who makes me sad to think about how he took his own life, he was young. Our military is a whole different culture. You have to follow orders and maintain discipline. You take it one day at a time and you just pray to God that you're gonna get through it,” Stegner said.

Brittini Long, a senior program Coordinator with MCADAMHS said oftentimes, service members begin serving our country at 18-years old, before the brain is fully developed, so they witness the unthinkable, oftentimes without the foundation of understanding how to cope with immense trauma.

“Whether that's in combat, whether that's military sexual abuse, there is a lot of trauma that our military members and our veterans experience, and so if they don't have the support, to grow and to learn through that, it can have life-altering changes. Trauma rewires our brain,” said Long.

Long noted that veterans and service members die at higher suicide rates than the general population.

Long said it’s critical to help vets learn how to overcome trauma early on, to prevent long-term consequences like homelessness, addiction, and suicide. She added the brain is resilient, and said veterans can recover if they seek appropriate treatment.

Last year, MCADAMHS received a three-year $375,000 Warriors Supporting Wellness Grant to teach service members, veterans, and first responders how to provide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings to peers in their field..

“We're able to reach people throughout the world with this training, and they're getting it from people who have walked in that walk with them. Right, and so there's that level of empathy and understanding and support. And it's people like me that are having this conversation. So again, we're normalizing we're helping reduce the stigma by having these conversations and equipping them with the skills that they need,” Long said.

Long said Wright Patterson Air Force Base used to mandate only one-hour of suicide prevention a year. Long teamed up with Thomas Tirey, suicide prevention program manager for Wright-Patt. Long said Tirey was looking for innovative ways and new approaches to provide support.

Now, the Warriors Supporting Wellness Grant allows Wright-Patt to hold classes every week. Long said more than 140 service members are trained, but feels there’s a need for similar programs nationwide.

She said Wright-Patt is also working on intensive projects analyzing data to pinpoint suicide risk factors in units.

“What they are able to do is to look at this data, and they're able to see these risk factors and they can pinpoint it down to the units that are the most at risk and heavy load, that mental health first aid training in that leadership. And the peers. So that ideally, it doesn't come to fruition,” Long said.

Signs a veteran you know may be struggling with PTSD:

-Desperation in language either in person or via social media

-Behavioral changes from somebody’s normal baseline such as missing appointments or not engaging in activities they typically enjoy

-Isolation, despair

“We just have to be willing to say something and when I say say something, you know, I've noticed you're not yourself. You know, I've noticed you always come to this event and you haven't been there the last couple months. We have to be willing to say something,” Long said.

When Dayton 24/7 Now reporter Allison Walker asked Stegner, “Do you have a message out there for veterans struggling in silence?”

He responded, “Don't give up. Look for the right path to take. And remember you know there are people that love you, and the Springfield Soup Kitchen is here to help you.”

For confidential mental health assistance for veterans and their families call 800-273-8255 and press 1.

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