Red Cross, National Guard trying to head off suicide

August 26, 2009
Red Cross, National Guard trying to head off suicide
When members of the West Virginia National Guard's 821st Engineering Company came home from Iraq in the spring of 2008, they were hailed as heroes. But along with their gear and their memories, some members of the unit brought with them the ghosts of combat and stress.
By Rusty Marks
Staff writer
Advertiser

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When members of the West Virginia National Guard's 821st Engineering Company came home from Iraq in the spring of 2008, they were hailed as heroes.


But along with their gear and their memories, some members of the unit brought with them the ghosts of combat and stress. In March, one of the members of the 821st shot himself.


"He had been back for 10 months," said Staff Sgt. Travis Willard, manager of the suicide prevention program for the West Virginia National Guard.


Willard said the soldier had been going through a divorce, and had been seeing a professional about his problems. "At one point he discontinued his treatment," Willard said. "He just stopped going."


Members of the American Red Cross and West Virginia National Guard teamed up Wednesday to present a Suicide Prevention and Military Families Workshop at Charleston's Embassy Suites Hotel.


About 50 people -- mostly health providers, behavioral health professionals and family advocates -- came to find out more about spotting service members at risk for suicide and how to stop suicidal thoughts before it's too late.
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