"Combating the Stigma of Suicide"
22 veterans die by suicide every day across the USA.
(But is that information factual? For many reasons, it is more.)
- The figure, released by the Department of Veterans Affairs in February, is based on the agency's own data and numbers reported by 21 states from 1999 through 2011. Those states represent about 40% of the U.S. population. The other states, including the two largest (California and Texas) and the fifth-largest (Illinois), did not make data available.
- There is no uniform reporting system for deaths in America. It's usually up to a funeral director or a coroner to enter veteran status and suicide on a death certificate.
- Homeless veterans are another population that may not be accurately reported into these staggering numbers.
1 service member every 25 hours dies by suicide across the USA. That is a lot considering the Military has more than 900 Suicide Prevention Programs across the services.
The BBC notes American Military suicide is under the microscope. The information in that news brief came from the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER).The DoD Suicide Event Report (DoDSER) standardizes suicide surveillance efforts
across the Services (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy) to support the
DoD's suicide prevention mission. The DoDSER is used for a variety of suicide behaviors including suicides,
suicide attempts, and some other suicide related behaviors. For more information about DoDSER and other Telehealth and Technology initiatives, please visit www.t2health.org.
The DoDSER reports that less than 50% of the suicides stem from deployments and 6% of the military members have actually been in combat. Hand in hand a study (Risk Factors Associated With Suicide in Current and Former US Military Personnel) released this summer in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no evidence of a link between suicide and troops who deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones over the past decade.
In North Dakota, that seems to be a fair assessment of the suicides. Not all stem from combat related activity.
Interestingly enough, across America suicides by military personnel are down 22 percent so far in 2013, just one year after a record number of service members took their own lives. However, in North Dakota we seem to have hit an uptrend in military suicides with numbers jumping in the Guard and Air Force Bases.
There is so much stigma behind the word suicide. We decided to take the stigma of suicide and toss it out the window. In the spring of 2014, we are hosting a tour across North Dakota called, "Combating the Stigma of Suicide."
Carol Graham, spouse of US Army MG Mark Graham (RET) will be our guest speaker for the week. The Grahams have dedicated their lives to sharing their story. Both sons were in the military; one died by suicide, the other was killed in action. Watch the video on the link below of the Graham's story and their amazing contribution to the cause of suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
All presentations will be from 7-9pm with Carol speaking for the first hour and a panel with questions and answers to follow.
The dates and locations are:
- Monday, April 28th - Bismarck - First Evangelical Free Church
- Tuesday, April 29 - Fargo - TBA
- Wednesday, April 30- Grand Forks - Cottonwood Community Church
- Thursday, May 1 - Minot State University
We are still in the preliminary planning stages, please be watching our Facebook for more details or contact Shelle Aberle for more information Shelle @ MilitaryOvation.org or (218) 779-7271.
