((PKG)) VETERANS’ SUICIDE
((Banner: Preventing Veteran Suicide)) ((Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal))
((Map: Brush, Colorado))
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS))
((Pop-Up Banner: Every day, some 20 U.S. military veterans commit suicide))
((NATS)) ((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
I said, are you thinking of, you know, committing suicide, and he was like, I would never do that to you and Matt, who was our son. So, the night that I came home and found my husband in the backyard was the longest night of my life. I never thought he would do that, but he did, and I've gotten to the point where I need to do something to stop it. So, if nothing else, just to make aware of people.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
22 is Too Many started in October of 2014. My husband spent four years active duty, seven years reserve. I'm a Navy veteran. I always want to do something for veterans relating to suicide.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
We walk down the street, to the corner of Edison and Clayton, at 12 o'clock noon, on the 22nd of every month, and we stay there for an hour with the 1-800 number, you know, to tell people that, you know, there's help available.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
There's lack of awareness that veterans don't know about the 800 number. There's not a lot of assistance in the rural communities.
((NATS: Thank you.))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
There's another organization that's getting started. Stacy Syphers has been very involved in that. So, we're trying to help with that too, and we got a lot of our people that stand on the corner that have gone to those meetings and are wanting to get involved.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
This program that I'm working for is a pilot program. They're trying to see how do we reach the rural veterans? How do we get out there? How can we get the veterans that are already living there, and then are aware of this program, to then reach out, kind of, like the snowball effect. Like, I start, I talk to somebody, they will know about the program, talk to a friend that can be a veteran.
((NATS: Thank you. Behave. Thanks Martin. Appreciate it. And Wil, we’re going to get together, maybe, next week. Okay, let me know. Yeah, we'll let you know to see if you're available.)) ((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center)) I attend different city council meetings. I will be involved or stop by and see different VFWs [Veterans of Foreign Wars] or American legions. It's any place I can get my hands on veterans that I can try to reach out to them. I do travel a lot. I travel several hours, thousands of miles a paycheck.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
Okay, we're going to be off to the wild plains of Colorado. The area that we're at right now, which is considered very rural and oftentimes described as frontier. So, rural and frontier communities is basically all six of my counties, is actually the highest percentage of death by suicide, is in these types of communities.
((Pop-Up Banner: Main reasons for higher suicide rates among rural veterans: - Isolation
- Access to firearms
- Lack of access to healthcare))
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
This is my first time to this area and I'm trying to figure out where she told me to go. Vets Club. Okay, we're here at the Vets Club in Wray, Colorado and we’re going to go in and chat with some vets and see what services they’re aware of.
((NATS: Vets Club members and Stacy Syphers))
I'm Danny. Danny, nice to meet you. Tom. Tom. So, you are Vietnam era. Yeah. You are Korean era. Vietnam. My job as a veteran is to just come and talk to you guys and see if, what would happen with one of you four specifically, if your friend was showing signs of suicide, if there was talk of it, what would you, what do you think that you would do first? The biggest problem usually is they don't talk to nobody else. Nobody knows it. It just comes out in the wild blue sky. So, you're saying that most veterans do not talk about mental health. The war zone, you don't talk about it, usually. You know, it is inside of you but you don’t say nothing about it. If Ray doesn't show up for cards, there's something different in the way that he would be. Yeah. Well, now it's four weeks, and we’ll then find out that, you know, something financially happened to you, whatever it is, you know, it can be anything. We would be calling his wife and find out….. Yeah, but see that's good to know because that means that you're checking on your buddy, that is a buddy check plan, that you know if you are not seeing your regular people on a regular basis. But there's some people out there that needs to be part of the group, and sometimes we have our group so tight and small and so intimate because we trust these people, but there's other people out there that might need it too. I don't care if we have a barbecue in the summer, and we somehow invite all the vets, and just let them know about these services. And I'm taking your time to play. It’s your deal. It’s my deal. Okay, I’m going to tell you what it is. There you go. You’re the joker. I got this. How can I get this card? I thank you, endlessly, I thank you. Pleasure to meet you guys, all of you, and keep taking care of yourself.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
I learned a lot from them, and they also realized that they could sign up for some benefits, or benefits were available that they really didn't think about.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
In the rural frontier area, letting them know that services are available, that they will have the option if they want to get them or not. It's just we're not getting to them. We're just not getting to them.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
It's a huge crisis around the United States. I'll keep on doing it until it gets to zero. So, I, may be a little old lady standing on the corner, but yeah, I just I'll be there until they don't need us anymore and I hope that’s very soon.
((Banner: Preventing Veteran Suicide)) ((Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal))
((Map: Brush, Colorado))
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS))
((Pop-Up Banner: Every day, some 20 U.S. military veterans commit suicide))
((NATS)) ((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
I said, are you thinking of, you know, committing suicide, and he was like, I would never do that to you and Matt, who was our son. So, the night that I came home and found my husband in the backyard was the longest night of my life. I never thought he would do that, but he did, and I've gotten to the point where I need to do something to stop it. So, if nothing else, just to make aware of people.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
22 is Too Many started in October of 2014. My husband spent four years active duty, seven years reserve. I'm a Navy veteran. I always want to do something for veterans relating to suicide.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
We walk down the street, to the corner of Edison and Clayton, at 12 o'clock noon, on the 22nd of every month, and we stay there for an hour with the 1-800 number, you know, to tell people that, you know, there's help available.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
There's lack of awareness that veterans don't know about the 800 number. There's not a lot of assistance in the rural communities.
((NATS: Thank you.))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
There's another organization that's getting started. Stacy Syphers has been very involved in that. So, we're trying to help with that too, and we got a lot of our people that stand on the corner that have gone to those meetings and are wanting to get involved.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
This program that I'm working for is a pilot program. They're trying to see how do we reach the rural veterans? How do we get out there? How can we get the veterans that are already living there, and then are aware of this program, to then reach out, kind of, like the snowball effect. Like, I start, I talk to somebody, they will know about the program, talk to a friend that can be a veteran.
((NATS: Thank you. Behave. Thanks Martin. Appreciate it. And Wil, we’re going to get together, maybe, next week. Okay, let me know. Yeah, we'll let you know to see if you're available.)) ((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center)) I attend different city council meetings. I will be involved or stop by and see different VFWs [Veterans of Foreign Wars] or American legions. It's any place I can get my hands on veterans that I can try to reach out to them. I do travel a lot. I travel several hours, thousands of miles a paycheck.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
Okay, we're going to be off to the wild plains of Colorado. The area that we're at right now, which is considered very rural and oftentimes described as frontier. So, rural and frontier communities is basically all six of my counties, is actually the highest percentage of death by suicide, is in these types of communities.
((Pop-Up Banner: Main reasons for higher suicide rates among rural veterans: - Isolation
- Access to firearms
- Lack of access to healthcare))
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
This is my first time to this area and I'm trying to figure out where she told me to go. Vets Club. Okay, we're here at the Vets Club in Wray, Colorado and we’re going to go in and chat with some vets and see what services they’re aware of.
((NATS: Vets Club members and Stacy Syphers))
I'm Danny. Danny, nice to meet you. Tom. Tom. So, you are Vietnam era. Yeah. You are Korean era. Vietnam. My job as a veteran is to just come and talk to you guys and see if, what would happen with one of you four specifically, if your friend was showing signs of suicide, if there was talk of it, what would you, what do you think that you would do first? The biggest problem usually is they don't talk to nobody else. Nobody knows it. It just comes out in the wild blue sky. So, you're saying that most veterans do not talk about mental health. The war zone, you don't talk about it, usually. You know, it is inside of you but you don’t say nothing about it. If Ray doesn't show up for cards, there's something different in the way that he would be. Yeah. Well, now it's four weeks, and we’ll then find out that, you know, something financially happened to you, whatever it is, you know, it can be anything. We would be calling his wife and find out….. Yeah, but see that's good to know because that means that you're checking on your buddy, that is a buddy check plan, that you know if you are not seeing your regular people on a regular basis. But there's some people out there that needs to be part of the group, and sometimes we have our group so tight and small and so intimate because we trust these people, but there's other people out there that might need it too. I don't care if we have a barbecue in the summer, and we somehow invite all the vets, and just let them know about these services. And I'm taking your time to play. It’s your deal. It’s my deal. Okay, I’m going to tell you what it is. There you go. You’re the joker. I got this. How can I get this card? I thank you, endlessly, I thank you. Pleasure to meet you guys, all of you, and keep taking care of yourself.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
I learned a lot from them, and they also realized that they could sign up for some benefits, or benefits were available that they really didn't think about.
((NATS))
((Stacy Syphers, Regional Health Connector, Centennial Area Health Education Center))
In the rural frontier area, letting them know that services are available, that they will have the option if they want to get them or not. It's just we're not getting to them. We're just not getting to them.
((NATS))
((Melody Christensen, Navy Veteran, Founder – 22 is Too Many))
It's a huge crisis around the United States. I'll keep on doing it until it gets to zero. So, I, may be a little old lady standing on the corner, but yeah, I just I'll be there until they don't need us anymore and I hope that’s very soon.
