Resources available during Veteran Suicide and PTSD Awareness Month

According to the Veterans Club, Incorporated, an average of 17 veterans die daily in the United States. It's those kinds of numbers that the non profit is trying to stop by reaching out to veterans here in the Kentucky who need support

LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ)- June is Veteran Suicide and PTSD Awareness Month — a time to talk about post traumatic stress disorders and remind veterans they’re not alone.

One Kentucky non-profit is working to play a crucial role in stopping soldier suicide.

According to the Veterans Club, Incorporated, an average of 17 veterans die daily in the United States. It’s those kinds of numbers that the non profit is trying to stop by reaching out to veterans here in the Kentucky who need support.

“It’s all of our responsibility to reduce suicide as a hole. And then obviously veteran suicide falls under that category,” says Jeremy Harrell, the founder of Veterans Club Inc.

Harrell created the non-profit in 2017. Harrell is a U.S. Army Combat veteran who served in Operation: Iraqi Freedom and was deployed in 2003 and 2004. He understands first-hand veteran PTSD, having suffered himself for years.

“I’ve been dealing with it since my deployment in ’03 and ’04. It’s very much included in my every day life,” says Harrell.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 12 million people in the United States live with PTSD. The department also says PTSD is slightly more common among veterans than civilians.
Symptoms vary person to person, but signs include re-living the event; having negative thoughts and feelings; and experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, guilt and numbness.

“Trying to avoid places that remind you of the trauma. It can impact your life and sometimes vets can feel like they are a burden to the ones around them. Unfortunately, sometimes, that can lead to veteran suicide,” says Harrell.

There are several resources available for veterans experiencing suicidal thoughts , including the new and easy-to-remember three-digit 988 Suicide and Crisis Line. The lifeline connects you with a local certified call center.

“If you’re having suicidal thoughts or some type of mental health stress, you can call the three digit number- 9-8-8- and get the support that you need from trained crisis counselors,” says Darcy Miller, the the Regional Director of Emergency Response with New Vista.

Here in Fayette County, New Vista among the network of centers answering those calls. In the past twelve months- the center seeing a 17 percent increase in calls.

Meantime-Harrell says the month highlights the need for veterans to get the help they need to live full and happy lives.

“You cant erase memories. And that is essentially what it is. But absolutely can have those memories to a point that it doesn’t negatively impact you emotionally or cause you to experience or cause you to go down a dark rabbit hole that you don’t want to go down and that’s the goal,” says Miller.

Harrell says there are several other resources available for veterans experiencing mental health issues or suicidal thoughts, including the Department of Veterans Affairs programs, psychotherapies, counselors, the 988 crisis line, and the Veterans Club.