Kathie Costos
August 31, 2018
Tomorrow starts Suicide Prevention Month, but in this video, I used "awareness" instead for a reason. We are about to be seeing even more groups on TV and in the news papers, plus online for weeks! The awareness that needs to be raised is that the one thing that is needed is to be given back some hope and know they matter. Read down to the bottom and see what you can do to change the conversation too!
Yesterday my friend Dave Matthews and I went to the Vietnam Memorial park across from Lake Baldwin VA to do a video. Well, actually 2 of them. One was for PTSD Patrol and the other was for his radio show. Yep, multitasking again!
Anyway, sure enough we got into another argument on the need to stop raising awareness on the "22 a day" stunts. This has been going on between us for a long time.
During the video, Dave dropped down and did 22 push-ups. I called him an idiot! We had just talked about the fact that no one knows how many veterans are committing suicide and that the gossip was doing more harm than good.
It is not helpful at all. What it does is rip the last glimmer of hope from a veteran on the verge of losing their last battle to survive.
It turned out that he challenged me to come up with something else to do after I could not get that number out of his head.
Well now you know how hard it is to get that number out of heads!
While some things are in the video, here are more thoughts this video spawned.
Take 22 friends and go to a homeless veterans shelter to help them for a day.
Take 22 friends and go to a VA hospital or clinic and thank the people working there as well as the veterans walking in.
Take 22 friends and write positive things about veterans.
Take 22 friends and visit veterans in nursing homes.
Take 22 friends and write cards to veterans in your area.
Take 22 friends and make gifts for veterans.
Take 22 friends and make phone calls to your local elected officials to correct a lot of the stuff they got wrong.
Take 22 friends and volunteer at one of the veterans organizations that take care of all generations of veterans.
The only way veterans will #CombatPTSD and hear they can #TakeBackYourLife is if you show up and show you care.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.