According to the latest statistics, the 2019 Pennsylvania Veteran Suicide Data shows that the veteran suicide rate in Pennsylvania was significantly higher than the national general population suicide rate. It is on record that in 2019, 270 veterans between the ages of 18-75+ took their life. One life is too many.
Chris Clark, a retired Army veteran served our country for 29 years and now works as a government contractor. He currently trains National Guard units across the northeastern United States. When Chris, who receives care from the VA, was approached in May regarding a veteran’s suicide prevention program, he was more than willing to jump on board as the program’s facilitator.
Bree Piper is a mental health professional with the VA and is the driving force behind the outreach and getting the program rolling. She wanted to see if there was a fit in Greene County for this program and indeed there was. With the support of Greene County Veterans, community partners, mental health professionals, clergy members, drug and alcohol counselors, and many more local community partners, the Together with Veterans (TWV) – Greene County, PA’s Steering Committee was born.
TWV is overseen by the VA’s rural veterans’ health initiative, which started in the summer of 2021. Their goal is to provide veterans with leadership, support, and guidance. The Steering Committee has many moving parts that keep the program running smoothly and in the right direction. The co-coordinators are Kathy Cipcic (Director, Greene Co. Office of Veterans Affairs) and Renee Imhoff (Administrative Asst., Greene Co. Office of Veterans Affairs).The co-facilitators are Chris Clark (US Army-Retired; Veteran-Operation Iraqi Freedom) and Alisa Hatchett (Program Supervisor, PA Dept. of Labor & Industry; US Air Force Veteran)
In 2018, the suicide rate for veterans was 1.5 times higher than the rate for non-veteran adults. The goal of TWV is to reduce suicide and suicidal behavior among veterans. They plan to bring an end to veteran suicide by providing veterans with resources, education and support. “We need to help build community awareness surrounding this issue,” says veteran, Chris Clark. “Partnering with rural veterans and their communities to implement community-based suicide prevention is key in supporting those who have given so much to our country.”
“Community partners who are informed and educated about suicide prevention, and veteran/military culture are better equipped to address the needs of veterans,” adds Chris. Collaboration and education will strengthen the suicide prevention network for veterans, their families and friends. The TWV strategies are drawn from well-researched models that have been shown to effectively reduce suicide rates. TWV partnerships develop a unique suicide prevention action plan based on community strengths and addressing community needs. These strategies are implemented using a five-phase process to support rural communities in developing a local veteran suicide prevention action plan: team building, community outreach, community research, team training, Community-tailored planning, and the execution of plans and measuring effectiveness.
Six evidence-based suicide prevention strategies are used by TWV to support the local planning efforts: provide suicide prevention training, enhance primary care suicide prevention, promote connectedness and help seeking, improve communication across veteran-serving programs, enhance behavioral health suicide prevention, and promote lethal means safety.
The 2018 records show there were 261 veteran suicides across the state, with the Pennsylvania suicide rate being 31.3 and 32 nationally. In 2019 these rates increase with 270 veteran suicides. The Pennsylvania veteran suicide rate was recorded at 33 and 31 nationally. PA is close to being among the top rated for veteran suicides in our country. With the veteran’s crisis line TWV hopes to be in right place at the right time. Veterans who are looking for help can call, text or chat online to help get them to a safe place.
Together with Veterans Rural Suicide Prevention Program is currently in the procedural steps. Training of the crisis hotline staff, researching local available resources that veterans can take advantage of and lastly, providing community readiness. It is their hope that local emergency services, law enforcement and all program team and community members can come together with laser beam focus to establish what veterans need the most.
“If we can get people to talk openly and freely about this problem, we can help our veterans.”
Chris shares a quote from one of his favorite authors, Tom Satterly, Co-founder of All Secure Foundation, “People don’t fake needing help, they fake being okay”.
The VA’s Office of Rural Health, funds Together With Veterans – Greene County in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) for Suicide Prevention, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Behavioral Health Program (WICHE BHP)
*The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is leading efforts to understand suicide risk factors, develop evidence-based prevention programs and prevent Veteran suicide through a public health approach.
*These 2019 state data sheets are based on a collaborative effort among the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The statistics presented are derived from multiple data sources, including the VA Office of Enterprise Integration, the VA Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center, VA Post-Deployment Health Services, the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, and the DoD Defense Suicide Prevention Office.
