New gun covers enlisted in fight against suicide

"Cover Me Veterans" helps veterans thinking of suicide to think twice

Action 2 News
By Brittany Schmidt
May 20, 2019

Dr. Sigmund would often ask her clients to put a picture of someone or something they treasure close to their firearms when they are having dark thoughts. “It would be a prompt to look at that and think, 'Hey, I have a lot to live for. These people need me or I can count on them,'" said Dr. Sigmund.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - In the United States, we lose almost two dozen veterans a day to suicide, but one local woman is hoping her efforts will make veterans think twice before taking their own life.

“I think there could be no greater work than to devote time and effort giving back to the people who sign up, volunteer or answer the call to serve all of us,” said Dr. Heidi Sigmund, founder of the non-profit organization called Cover Me Veterans.

For the past 12 years, Preble High School and St. Norbert College graduate Heidi Sigmund has been helping veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“We talk about 'suicidal ideation' a lot because unfortunately when someone is struggling with PTSD that is something that can come up,” said Dr. Sigmund.

When that happens, Dr. Sigmund asks her veterans to distance themselves from their firearms.

“It’s kind of a conundrum because we know that most veterans that choose to end their lives do so using firearms, but we are also working with people who really value their firearms, it’s a firearm culture,” said Dr. Sigmund.

Dr. Sigmund teamed up with GunSkins to create personalized vinyl skins to go on a veteran's firearms. In the kit, a veteran can upload a personal, meaningful photo to be printed and included in the order. Many pictures include children, spouses, pets and military logos.
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