Websites become tool for stopping veteran suicides

Websites become tool for stopping veteran suicides? Really? These poor guys have information overload and no one is keeping track of what is being done. If most of this stuff was working, including the suicide prevention hotline with the reported saves over 30,000 now, then we wouldn't see the numbers keep going up. So what is this all about?

I've been doing this for 30 years and have been contacted by a lot of groups on Facebook but they cannot answer questions and have no plans to be able to address emergency situations. No one with the training is available 24-7. No one is monitoring the site every day all day and when I visit the "groups" to see what is going on, there are veterans pouring out their hearts only to read "we're praying for you" and "God only gives us what we can handle" as if that solves their problems. It doesn't. Why pray when the veteran is told a moment later God is doing it to them? Just because a lot of people and groups are doing something when you see the numbers of tragedies go up, that means "something" is not always better than nothing.

Websites become tool for stopping veteran suicides
CNN
By Moni Basu
September 21, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Mental health professionals say Facebook is a safe place to air despondent thoughts
Social media can be used to save lives and keep alive the memory of those who are gone
Soldiers using Facebook to save their "battle buddies"
A new app for soldiers, veterans monitors social media posts

(CNN) -- At 5:49 p.m. on a January day, Pvt. Jordan DuBois posted on his Facebook page: "I'm goin to kill myself this is my last post ... miss u all..."

One hour and 20 minutes later, DuBois' speeding truck slammed into a light pole and a bus bench in Colorado Springs.

Several people who saw the post in early 2012 tried to talk him out of doing anything rash. They failed. The Fort Carson soldier was dead.

But in recent months, Facebook has become an important tool in tackling an alarming number of military suicides. The social networking site has helped shed light on a serious problem plaguing service members and veterans. It has acted as friend and counselor to weary soldiers and played a key role in reducing the stigma associated with post-traumatic stress, depression and mental illness.

Social media have helped blur the lines between private and public. What used to be intensely personal affairs are now out there for the world to see. That's not always a good thing, as evidenced by the August posting of a man who police say shot and killed his wife in Miami and then uploaded the shocking image to Facebook.
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