PTSD can happen in our lifetime, no matter how old we are

Journalist Suffers PTSD from Covering War in Gaza, 'Hell on Earth': 'You Can’t Escape' (Exclusive)

PEOPLE
By Vanessa Etienne
September 30, 2024

“When you come back from a reporting assignment, and you're cleaning other people's blood off the bottom of your boots… you don't learn this in journalism school.” Trey Yingst

For Trey Yingst, the smell of barbecue triggers his PTSD. It reminds him of the burning bodies he witnessed in Gaza after war abruptly broke out in October 2023. The smells are eerily similar, he says, adding that his brain struggles to distinguish them.

“I try as much as possible to separate things in my mind, but that can be difficult,” he tells PEOPLE. “The mind will flash back very quickly.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise terrorist attack on Israel, killing roughly 1,400 people and taking more than 200 others hostage — a day that later became known as “Black Saturday,” which is also the title of Yingst’s new book.

Yingst — Fox News chief foreign correspondent — spent nearly 200 days on the ground covering the war and calls it “one of the scariest assignments I’ve ever had.”

“We were in southern Israel on the morning of October 7 and witnessed the massacre firsthand. There were people that died in front of me and we saw the aftermath… bodies everywhere,” he recalls. “That was when I really started to realize the impact that being a war correspondent can have on your mind.”
read the rest here

It's true; you don't learn what war reporters end up covering in journalism school. You don't know what you'll face during a pandemic in nursing school, and people go from calling you a hero to blaming you for what "hardships" they had to go through because they couldn't do what they wanted when they wanted to. They don't train you to face a massacre at the police academy. They don't train you to face a sniper when you are being trained as a firefighter or to face loss after loss of fellow citizens, as well as colleagues taking their own lives. The truth is, no amount of training can prepare you for when the unthinkable happens.

Some professions come with known risks, and people are not blind to them. Then there are the risks that hit you when you never saw them coming. The only thing you can prepare for is the need to ask for help. Seems like a no-brainer, but it is often the hardest thing to do when you are one of the people helping others for a living.

How do you ask for help when you have it in your mind that you were trained to cope with everything you had to face on your job? By acknowledging they didn't train you for everything because they didn't have a crystal ball to foretell your future. No matter how often they told you they could, they couldn't train you for everything in the military. If they could, there would be no need to pay millions of dollars yearly to research how to find something that worked. Considering the number of suicides in the military and in the veteran community has not gone down, that's a huge clue right there.

But it isn't just a military problem. It is a problem that every trauma survivor has to figure out...how to become a survivor who survives surviving.

We can't talk to "normal" people because they won't understand. At least we don't think they will because we don't give them a chance. It's a lot easier to deny there's anything wrong with us, and we're coping just fine with whatever life did to us. We don't tell them that our way of coping is hiding the pain or numbing it by drinking or doing drugs.

The most prepared people to reach out to share are seniors like me because we know we're all going through our own struggles. We still know how to talk to our neighbors face-to-face or on the phone, just checking in. No one trained us to get old besides our parents, but they couldn't foresee everything our lives would become. We did, however, learn that when we open up, we discover we're not alone. No one would share their heartaches or struggles if they always pretended to be happy. No one trained us, and no one warned us that we could end up with PTSD in our senior years, either.

The other truth is that PTSD can happen in our lifetime, no matter how old we are. 

PTSD Awareness Month, history repeated

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

June 4, 2022

This is the 4th day of PTSD Awareness Month. I think it should be changed from awareness to beware-ness because of the way some reporters cover stories on PTSD.

This is good reporting on PTSD among members of law enforcement.

Public safety officer deaths by suicide, PTSD could soon be considered line-of-duty injuries
Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
ASHLEY MURRAY
May 31, 2022

Law enforcement officers are 54% more likely to die by suicide compared to the general population, according to a 2021 study published by the journal Policing. Authors cite available data from 2017 to 2019 that shows deaths among law enforcement officers were more likely to be from suicide than from accidents or felonious acts.

WASHINGTON — Just over two weeks ago, Pittsburgh police responded when a 6-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood. Officers arrived at the home on Johnson Avenue and rendered aid, giving the small child CPR until he could be taken to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in critical condition.

The next morning, a member of the police department’s peer support team reached out to the officers, and the team’s founder and lead, Sgt. Carla Kearns, got in touch with the company behind a smartphone app that local first responders can use as a mental health resource. They quickly added a module on dealing with the crisis of child injury and death, Sgt. Kearns said, and the team reported an uptick in app usage.

The repeated exposure public safety officers face when responding to any number of situations -— opioid overdoses, fatal traffic accidents, mass shootings, and psychiatric distress and domestic violence calls — or other job duties, for example serving warrants to potentially dangerous or armed suspects, contributes to elevated rates of occupational mental health issues.

This includes what psychologists are defining as a “crisis” level of suicides in the profession.
read more here

The problem with this is, that too many still have to deal with terrible treatment from their superiors, and sue.

Former LMPD detective suing police department for wrongful termination WAVE By Dustin Vogt Published: Jun. 2, 2022

LMPD notified WAVE News that all of former officer Christopher Palombi's cases had been transferred to different investigators following his firing.(WAVE)

Burbrink told Palombi in a text message exchange he could seek inpatient treatment and would be moved to temporary duty to another LMPD unit following treatment completion. Palombi flew to California and enrolled in a 30-day treatment program, which the department paid a portion of the treatment cost.

According to the document, Burbrink was not truthful in his statements to Palombi via text, and once Palombi returned, he was served pre-termination paperwork.

Palombi was terminated on March 2.

And then there is this bad reporting, from Metro News, Crash-Suicide victim suffered from PTSD

“For an unknown reason he wrecked, upon further investigation it was determined he had shot himself while driving down the road,” the sheriff explained.

The deputy pulled over the man for speeding and noticed drug paraphernalia in the car. He asked a woman in the car, who was the man’s fiancé, to step out. She did, but the driver fled.

“This individual was a previously discharged Marine. Later on we discerned he suffered from PTSD and had some psychological issues and it got the best of him there for no apparent reason,” said Eggleton.

Click the link for more, but I think you spotted the same thing I did. No one gets PTSD for "no apparent reason!"

Some reporters are trying and their timing is terrific. Because of the slaughter of little kids in Texas, they have covered what the families are going through and a lot of reporters are telling the stories of what the kids are going through. The problem is, they did that before with all the other mass murders.

If you're wondering what life will be like for the survivors of the recent mass murderers attacking all over the country, especially in schools, here is a story that sums up what happened to one of them from what he survived five years ago.

Central Texas mother pleads for help as young Sutherland Springs shooting victim continues battle nearly five years later

SAN SABA, Texas (KWTX) - Nearly five years after the Sutherland Springs shooting claimed the lives of 26 people and injured 20 others, a mother in San Saba says her son’s journey to recovery from being severely wounded is far from over.

Ryland Ward was shot once in the shoulder, twice in the stomach, and twice in the leg on November 5, 2017 inside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

“As he’s getting older, the more he is realizing what actually took place that day and the extent of it,” Chancie Mcmahan, Ryland’s mom, said.

Ryland is now 10 years old and he has been in and out of hospitals undergoing 30 surgeries. It’s been a fight to recover both physically and mentally.

“His PTSD is really starting to kick in gear,” Mcmahan said. “I have him in counseling and he sees a psychologist. I’m taking all the necessary steps to make sure that he is mentally OK, but he struggles.”

It’s not just a challenge for Ryland, it’s putting strain on his mother.
read more here

As a reminder, this is what happened.

Air Force ordered to pay $230 million to Sutherland Springs shooting survivors and families of slain victims

Texas Tribune The U.S. Air Force was ordered to pay more than $230 million to survivors and families of those killed in the 2017 mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, a federal judge ruled Monday evening.

Judge Xavier Rodriguez had previously found that the military branch was mostly at fault for the mass shooting because it did not report the gunman’s previous assault conviction to the FBI, which could have prevented him from purchasing the semiautomatic rifle he used to kill 26 people.

In the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history, Devin Patrick Kelley fired more than 450 rounds at attendees during the church’s Nov. 5, 2017, Sunday service, injuring 22 and killing 26. He died later that day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after two men chased him with firearms of their own as he fled the scene.

The thing reporters are missing is, that they need to stop reporting on veterans as if they are the only survivors with PTSD. They need to stop reporting on members of law enforcement as if they are the only ones. Until they decide that they need to remind everyone that survivors of traumatic events have PTSD too, and need help to heal, the toughest among us won't even try to get help. The other factor is, that their bosses will still treat them like crap because they don't understand what they should about what happens to the survivors of the things their responders respond to! 

How about we start to let veterans know they are only human?

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

August 8, 2021

Why is it that too many think PTSD strikes only veterans? That is because veterans get all the attention. Rightfully, that is true but you may not know why they deserve the bulk of the attention. It isn't for the most obvious reasons. It is for the reason few know about. Had it not been for them, hardly no one would understand what trauma does to survivors, including me.

Vietnam veterans, came home the same way all other generations came home with the traumas of war tagging along deep inside of them. Unlike other generations, they decided that even though the American people basically gave up on them, they did not give up on us doing the right thing for them.

They pushed for all the research and funding that began everything available to them, as well as civilians. While we focus on veterans and PTSD, we do them a disservice by ignoring the others with PTSD from all other traumas. If we point out that humans develop PTSD from just facing trauma as a civilian, they are more able to understand why they get hit as hard as they do after facing multiple traumas while deployed.

If we withhold the commonality they share with members of emergency responders, again, we do veterans a great disservice.

Police Officers

In total, 47% of the sample screened positive for PTSD, which is approximately 9 to 10 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population. Further, 29% of the sample was in the moderate to very severe range of anxiety, which is approximately 2 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population. Finally, 37% of the sample was in the moderate to very severe range of depression. This is approximately 5 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population.

Among recent well publicized suicides, four police officers who fought off the attackers at the US Capitol committed suicide. 

Firefighters

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - First responders are nearly 10 times as likely to contemplate suicide than other adults, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

I was thinking about movies that came out long before the Vietnam War but PTSD is obvious to anyone who can see it within themselves.

In 1946 The Best Years Of Our Lives was about veterans of WWII coming home changed. Roger Ebert wrote "The home front is also not without its casualties" in 2007. It is a really great read especially about the veterans the movie focuses on, including an amputee veteran.

Russell won an honorary Oscar, "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." Although he was actually nominated for best supporting actor, the Academy board voted the special award because they thought he didn't have a chance of winning. They were wrong. He won the Oscar, the only time an actor has been given two Oscars for the same role.

"As long as we have wars and returning veterans, some of them wounded, "The Best Years of Our Lives" will not be dated."

The movie The Robe was one of the first movies I saw that was about PTSD. The Robe came out after WWI, WWII and the Korean War ended the year it was released. No one made the connection to the movie and how it was like what the memories of veterans. It had it all! The power of the past haunting us. A woman thinking that love could heal the afflicted. Some people thinking the one with PTSD had gone insane.

By the time I was old enough to watch it on TV and enjoy it, my Dad, a Korean War veteran, said it was haunting. I didn't understand why until he used the word "shell shock" to explain what veterans went through. I just associated it with my own traumas and struggles between what happened why clinging onto my faith.

Marcellus (Richard Burton) became haunted and Diana (Jean Simmons) loved him. She thought that he was possessed and said "you're ill" when it was clear he was not the same man she fell in love with. At one point, when he returned to her, he attempted suicide.

He had nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and paranoia. It is all in this movie including the fact that he was healed and became happier!

Marcellus Gallio (died 38 AD) was a Roman military tribune and Christian martyr during the 1st century AD. He was the commander of the detachment which crucified Jesus in Jerusalem in 33 AD, and he won Jesus' crucifixion robe in a dice game. After experiencing the robe's miraculous powers, Gallio became a Christian, and he was martyred by the Roman emperor Caligula in 38 AD because of his conversion.

(Note: He was a tribune and not a centurion)

The Robe (1953)

The first movie ever filmed in CinemaScope, The Robe was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1953, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Richard Burton. Burton stars as Marcellus Galilo, the Roman centurion charged with overseeing the crucifixion. But when he wins Christ's robe in a gambling game at the foot of the cross, his life is forever changed.

Also in this movie is the healing power of spirituality. This movie took hold of me to the point where when I was working for a church, I was told I'd be giving the Children's Sermon at the last minute. As a matte of fact, 10 minutes before the service began. The new Pastor didn't like me very much, and he problably thought he could trap me, or cause me to walk out. I looked up to Heaven and said, "take this over" because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it.

My heart was racing and all of a sudden this scene popped into by brain.

That was what I talked about to the children. It turned out, the grownups were listening too. After the service, many told me it was the best sermon I ever gave. The Youth Pastor, who was a friend, told me how wonderful it was and event the new Pastor congratulated me. Both of then wanted to know where it came from.

I told them while I knew what was in the Bible, I couldn't quote chapter or verse and wasn't sure where I read it. That night I had a dream about Victor Mature, also in the movie, and Cecil B. DeMille. The next morning I told both Pastors where it came from and we had a good, long laugh about it. Really funny considedring that had I remembered the real director's name, Henry Koster, it wouldn't have dawned on me that was a movie. My brain always associated movies to DeMille.

Another movie that explains PTSD is It's A Wonderful Life (1947)

An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

How about we start to let veterans know, while they are different from us, we have a lot more in common with them than they are aware of and maybe, they'll understand exactly how human they still are after all.

Here are some more movies you may not think about that are also addressing what comes after trauma.

10 Films About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

"Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition that may develop in people who have experienced a traumatic event. While it’s widely associated with veterans returning from war, victims of sexual abuse and assault, domestic violence, or robbery, any serious physical or psychological injury can be affected by this disorder."

1. The Deer Hunter (1978)
2. Coming Home (1978)
3. Born On The Fourth of July (1989)
4. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012)
5. First Blood (1982)
6. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
7. Forrest Gump (1992)
8. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
9. Iron Man 3 (2013)
10. Mystic River (2003)
find out why from InspireMalibu.com

Disney movies with trauma survivors

1. Maleficent from “Maleficent”
2. Elsa from “Frozen”
3. Quasimodo from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
4. Merida from “Brave”
5. Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch”
6. Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”
7. Sadness from “Inside Out”
8. Cinderella from “Cinderella”
9. Princess Jasmine from “Aladdin”
10. Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”
11. Mowgli from “The Jungle Book”
12. Belle from “Beauty and the Beast”
13. Rapunzel from “Tangled”
14. Jim Hawkins from “Treasure Planet”
15. Eeyore from “Winnie the Pooh”
16. Mulan from “Mulan”
17. Chief Tui from “Moana”
18. Tinker Bell from “Peter Pan”
19. Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”
find out why from TheMighty.com

Seeing it in others, helps them to know, they are not alone and shouldn't think they should try to hide from us, especially when it is within many of us! 

 

Is Congress finally getting it right on suicide prevention?

Among the many things I had to get certification on, was Military Cultural Compentence. Working with veterans for all these years was a little easier for me, because I grew up with veterans. I was actually an Army brat! My Dad was a Korean War veteran and my uncles were WWII veterans. I understood the difference between veterans and civilans early on.

I also married a Vietnam veteran, spending most of my time surrounded by more of them.

All these years, veterans have been saying that sending them to a civilian therapist for help with PTSD was not working, Congress failed to listen. It looks like they are finally ready to, not just hear them, but act on it.

“Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.” 

Veterans belong with veterans. Police Officers belong with Police Officers and Firefighters belong with Firefighters. Why? Because there is a cultural difference. They already feel out of place when they have PTSD, so putting them in with civilians only adds to their level of feeling like an outcast. 

There is one more huge reason for this. The civilian world has a track record of not even being able to serve civilians! The rate of suicides in each group has grown despite all the years of "efforts" to reduce suicide and change the conversation from suffering to healing.

"Suicide rates increased 33% between 1999 and 2019, with a small decline in 2019. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.3 It was responsible for more than 47,500 deaths in 2019, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2019, 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide." CDC

The numbers of members of the military committing suicide have gone up as well over the years. 

The first Bill Congress passed to "reduce" suicides was back in 2007 and ever since then, they have been repeating the same things that failed. I just got hopeful reading about this effort this time and thinking IT'S ABOUT TIME~

Gus Bilirakis: Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act Will Help Reduce Veteran Suicides

Florida Daily
Kevin Derby
July 27, 2021

Last week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., a member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, championed a proposal to “ensure veterans receive the highest quality care possible from private providers.”

Bilirakis is the main co-sponsor of U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s, D-Del., “Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.”

Backers of the proposal, which also include U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., insist the bill will help reduce the number of veterans committing suicide.

“As the suicide rate of our nation’s veterans continues to worsen, more must be done to provide them with quality mental health care. The need for quality care is most acute with private providers in two key areas: cultural competency and evidence-based treatment,” Bilirakis’ office noted.
read more here

Warning on royal commission cover-ups on suicides

why is this all still happening?

‘I have nothing to lose. My son is dead’: Warning on royal commission cover-ups

Sydney Morning Herald
By Melissa Cunningham and Angus Livingston
July 8, 2021

“I am concerned there will still be cover-ups, or people not talking about the issues that have caused some of the suicides." Julie-Ann Finney

Julie-Ann Finney campaigned for a royal commission in veteran suicides after her son David took his own life.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

The mother of a navy sailor who took his own life is promising to come out swinging at the federal government if it allows more cover-ups, demanding whistleblowers get protection if they give evidence to a royal commission probing veteran suicides.

Former deputy commissioner of NSW Police Nick Kaldas will lead the national Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicides, which was formally created on Thursday. The commissioner will be aided by James Douglas QC, a former Queensland Supreme Court judge and Peggy Brown, a consultant psychiatrist.

War veteran Rob Campbell said he had struggled “enormously” when he returned to Australia after serving in Afghanistan and East Timor and had watched his close friends grapple with PTSD and mental anguish, following years of serving in the army.
read more here

Live for love and heal

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 24, 2021
(from my other site) 

Today the featured video is one I did back in 2012. Alive Day with Donna Summer, I Will Live For Love. I created it when I was working with veterans and their families. It was a few years after I started posting on Wounded Times about the rise in suicides within the military and among veterans. Back then it was thought that there were 18 veterans committing suicide everyday and it was my effort to get them, along with the members of the military to think about PTSD in a different way.

All humans need to think about PTSD and mental health in a different way. Why you didn't see Post Bulletin footage of a suicide attempt? was the headline from The Post Bulletin by Jeff Pieters (May 21, 2021) about a repoter capturing the moment when a suicide was prevented by Police Officers. The reason they made the choice to not release the footage is something that all of us should pay attention to...and oh, by the way, I totally approve!

News reporting that informs you sometimes can hurt vulnerable people. Here's how one coverage decision was made.

As humans in society, we have an interest in our fellow people, the different ways they live their lives, the things that they achieve, and the fates that sometimes befall them. We expect, in our free society, to be informed. And yes, there will be hard and unpleasant stories in the Post Bulletin from time to time.

But when there is a cost to the subject, we have to weigh that against the public's desire to know. Does someone who has a drug addiction deserve to be spotlighted for his or her fairly minor misdeeds? Should the sight of somebody having their worst day — a mental health breakdown on a highway bridge in Rochester — be put on display to thousands of pairs of eyes?

And, as Gayle reminded me, sometimes it's more than the individual who bears the cost of the stigma and shame. "There's so little awareness of the impact on families," she said. "The hidden, invisible and innocent victims."

In the end, after much thought and discussion, we made the choice. We would not publish or post our images of what happened on that bridge.

It is never just the one with PTSD or any other mental health condition, but their families as well. I know what it is like to be "family" as well as what it is like to be the "one" dealing with depression so sever I was praying that God would let me die. It was after my daughter was born and I had walked around with an infection for months before it took over my body. I was in the hospital and so sad about things that I just didn't want to do any of it anymore. (Long story but you can read it in For The Love Of Jack) My husband came into the room when I woke up. He had our daughter in his arms. I looked at her and I knew I couldn't leave her. I decided to live for love.

Part of the reason why I stopped working exclusively with veterans and families was the fact that somehow the desire to expose the fact suicides were going up among veterans and members of the military, so that someone would do something to prevent them, was replaced by people making a lot of noise and money off the fact they were doing it. Prevention efforts were drowned out by the ever crowded growing numbers of people wanting fame and fortune instead of saving lives. Suicide prevention was replaced by suicide awareness. As more and more people were committing suicide, the focus and funding was all about veterans. I thought it was time that all us humans were worthy of living.

Maybe that is why most people decide to fight to take back our lives from whatever we're fighting. The people will love are worth fighting for. That is why I Will Live For Love is the featured video today.

Let it be your alive day and live for those you love by healing and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!
 

Dream-a-Lot’s Theme (I Will Live for Love)

Donna Summer

There's got to be a way that I can dream

Simply close my eyes and see

The worlds I've never known

What places that my soul has been

Sometimes I need to run away and hide

And soar above the clouds and ride

I sail along so high

Till nothing's in my sky

Except the stars that fill my eyes

And I will live for love

Where ever it may lead

It's written from the start

I know it's face by heart

I will live for love

I'm searching for the one who holds the key

To all this crazy life I lead

Through galaxies in time

A solitary star that joins

Sometimes I need to close my eyes and breathe

Inhale what life's been given me

A passion to ignite

A flaming heart a' flight

I close my eyes

I breathe

I'm free

And I will live for love

Where ever it may lead

It's written from the start

I know it's face by heart

I will live for love

The poet must have known

A lover of his own

"Cause that is when he wrote

Everything I felt for love

And I will fight for love in life and life in love

And I will hold to things above

I'm strong enough to slay the dragon dead and there

I will live for love

I'm taller than the sky

This dream will never die

So only know that I

I will live for love

The poet must have known

A lover of his own

That is when he wrote everything I felt for love

I will ever fight

I will live for life

I will live for love

Genius Lyrics 

"22" is not honorable for Memorial Day or any other day!

Dishonoring their lives on Memorial Day

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 19, 2020

If you hate it when I rant...you won't like this one! My anger is directed toward all the people out there participating in spreading the lie that 22 veterans a day commit suicide. If you are one of them, doing your pushups, thinking that you are helping, you are not. You may feel good about doing it, but the only people you are helping are the ones collecting the money you raise for them!

I have been fighting that ear worm since the report came out and it is time for more people to do whatever it takes to stop this bullshit! The known cases have gone up since suicide awareness started. It has only made them aware of other veterans giving up when they need to be made aware that their lives can be a hell of a lot better than they are aware of!

York police raise suicide awareness with 22 push-ups per day

YORK, Maine — The York Police Department has entered a challenge to complete 22 push-ups for 22 days to bring awareness to veteran and law enforcement suicides. An estimated 22 veterans die by suicide each day, according to a 2012 report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. That has given rise to a national movement to bring awareness to veteran suicide and those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

York residents are encouraged to film themselves and participate in the push-up challenge using the hashtag #22yorkmaine on social media, according to the department’s Facebook page

I am a fan of the police officers but not this stunt!

Fact on veterans committing suicide
Report came from limited data from just 21 states.

From page 15

Are we preventing suicides or preventing the truth? Shouldn't facts matter? Should the fact that suicide is contagious matter? Telling a veteran, or anyone else, that there are a lot more taking their own lives, does nothing to help them want to stay alive. You are robbing them of hope and a reason to seek help to heal.

Good motives do not replace good results. If the did then you would not be seeing an increase in suicides among law enforcement, but none of you are doing pushups for your own house!
Police Officer Suicide Facts

At least 228 police officers died by suicide in 2019, Blue H.E.L.P. says. That's more than were killed in the line of duty. USA Today

BLUEHELP.org

I have a list of names on this site because they were not just numbers. Officers doing pushups for a fictitious number of veterans committing suicide does not make sense when their own numbers have been going up. How many more officers have to take their own lives in the parking lots of Police stations before you guys wake up? 

What will it take for you to grasp the fact that if you #BreakTheSilence about your own pain, you will help them? What if instead of hearing how many others have committed suicide, you turned it around and told them #TakeBackYourLife so that they would want to fight to heal instead of not trusting you to listen to them? They trust you with their lives on the job but they cannot trust you with their pain? WTF? 

Any idea of the fact that the people who started all this push up bullshit just decided one day to "do something" about it without finding out what needed to be done? MY GOD! I did the first report on veterans committing suicide back in 2007!

I admire police officers because there are many times you have saved my life! I survived traumatic events that could have killed me 10 times and most of the time, you guys saved me. It breaks my heart to see so many of you take your own lives because of the jobs you have but when there is still this massive failure going on when it comes to saving the people you risk your lives with, there is no excuse. It is even more infuriating to see all of you participating in this stunt that has been a failure and spreads pain.

If you really want to make a difference, learn some facts and then support the groups doing what they can to actually PREVENT SUICIDES!

Retired Mountie speaking out to change the PTSD conversation

A veteran Mountie shares his struggles with PTSD, hoping it will encourage others to seek help

Vancouver Sun
Lori Culbert
March 14, 2020

There were 25 documented RCMP suicides between January 2014 and December 2019, involving 15 active members and 10 retirees, Brien said. Postmedia has reported that between 2006 and 2014, there were 31 suicides by serving or retired Mounties.

It was a warm Sunday evening in April 1979 when John Buis, a 25-year-old Mountie with two years on the job, pulled over a dilapidated Lincoln Continental with Texas plates that had been speeding on Kingsway Avenue in Burnaby.

He radioed in the licence plate number, but it was 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and the computer system was slow, so no information was immediately available. Buis and his partner Jack Robinson called for backup before checking the identification of the seven people who spilled out of the messy, dirty car stopped near Imperial Avenue.

After Const. Merv Korolek responded to the scene, the three officers searched the car. They made some disturbing finds among the discarded food wrappers and other garbage: ammunition and a rifle scope in the back seat, and a sawed-off rifle in a plastic bag in the trunk.

He sought help at Vancouver’s Operational Stress Injury Clinic, which caters to police and soldiers, and from there attended a nine-week residential treatment program in Saanich.

He is speaking out today to encourage a larger conversation about mental health among first responders, who are often hesitant to ask for help.
read it here

What do we receive in return for our time than to see a veteran's life change from hopelessness to healing?

Faith In Healing PTSD Hardly New

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 20, 2020

The recent news about the Department of Veterans Affairs joining forces with faith based groups is something wonderful, yet troubling at the same time.

While more and more groups have been popping up all over the country for over a decade, we have been wondering if any of them noticed what others had already begun long before these new leaders heard the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Wondering what else did they miss?

It is obvious they missed a group dedicated to delivering the awesome power of healing through peer support based on someone else who knew what it was like to be willing to sacrifice His life for the sake of others...Jesus.

If even the Son of God asked for help, there should be no stigma associated with needing your peers to help you. After all, none of you looked down on those you were sent to help. If you were willing to die for their sake, as well as the sake of those you served with, turning to them for your own sake makes sense.

So why is it that the stigma lives on, as strong as ever, while you were brave enough to serve, are afraid to communicate with those you served with?

Point Man International Ministries has been clearing the road to #TakeBackYourLife since 1984 because a Vietnam veteran knew the price he paid for his service in Vietnam, as well as, the price he was willing to pay as a police officer in Seattle Washington.

Leaders in Point Man have been working with the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals all over the country for years because it works. Yet, much like the 72 Jesus sent to care for others, no one knows their names.

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Luke 10:1-2 New International Version (NIV)

They did not want to glorify themselves, they just wanted to freely share what they had been given by Jesus. It did not matter that no one knew their names, but it was they joy they received in doing the work they were sent to do that mattered the most.

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

We live with that joy everyday! There is nothing to compare to what we receive in return for our time than to see a veteran's life change from hopelessness to healing! To see you go from feeling abandoned by God, to knowing you are loved!

New Veterans Affairs rule helps religious organizations provide quality services

Washington Times
By Mike Berry
February 19, 2020

Illustration on veterans and suicide by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

America faces a crisis of epidemic proportions. The number of Americans who take their own lives by suicide each day is staggering and sobering. Even one suicide is heartbreaking; a recent study estimated that 135 surviving people are affected by each suicide.

The latest data show that 17 veterans tragically take their own lives each day, and the rate shows no sign of slowing. Veterans comprise only 7.9 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for 13.5 percent of all suicides.

Americans know something has to be done to help the men and women who have selflessly served our nation, often resulting in terrible, unseen wounds. Thankfully, some Americans have answered the call to help those “who have borne the battle.”
read it here

"For every completed suicide there are 10 others" so why support making more aware of them?

Is your group doing more harm than good?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 15, 2020

When veterans decide to take their own lives, there is a much bigger problem this country has, than most are aware off. There was a time when it was necessary to put all the reports together so that people would do something about it. That time arrived on Wounded Times in 2007. Why isn't the press on suicide watch was viewed over 9,000 times.

I discovered the reports searching for them to do a video on suicides. Before that, it was a topic in the Veterans' Community, but we spoke about it too quietly. Many of us lost parents, as well as other family members, but we thought it was something to be ashamed of, instead of something that needed to be shouted so that everyone could hear us.

Putting together the report and the video, ripped me apart because I knew what that pain felt like. My husband's nephew, also a Vietnam veteran, took his own life. I also know what it is like when they hear there is an alternative to taking your own life with #TakeBackYourLife.

The time to invest in awareness efforts came soon afterwards, when the American people stood up and demanded the government take action. Since then, billions have been spent on some things that are worth every dime. Unfortunately, even more has been spent by the government that are far from worthy of the loss of one single veteran's life. In the process, we managed to also ignore the families, like mine, left behind to deal with unanswerable questions.

How we arrived here is no mystery. Some just decided they had to do something but did not take it seriously enough to know what they were talking about.

In this report Chaplain to veterans hopes new initiative will help stop veteran suicide out of Australia, you can see how suicide awareness groups can actually make it worse for those struggling.

CATHOLICS leading the battle against veteran suicide have welcomed the appointment of an independent commissioner to investigate deaths and make recommendations on metal health and wellbeing.

Deacon Gary Stone, the man known as the Veteran’s padre, “hopes and prays” a new government initiative will combat veteran suicide, and benefit the wider community.

“Every suicide seriously impacts families and friends who also need support,” Deacon Stone (pictured), who heads the Veterans Care Association and is a former infantry officer, said.

“For every completed suicide there are 10 others (and their associated families and friends) struggling with suicidal ideation and self-harm.”

What do we see all over social media? Talk about a number attached to veterans committing suicide. We see members of the military, veterans groups, police officers, firefighters and regular citizens, dropping down to do 22 pushups. We see them running, walking and all kinds of other stunts to raise money while claiming they are raising awareness that veterans are killing themselves.

What is the point of all this? Did anyone of them think that their peers are also among those committing suicide and it is not just veterans?

The CDC released a report last year stating, "After a stable period from 2000 to 2007, suicide rates for persons aged 10–24 increased from 2007 to 2017..."

In another report from the CDC, "Suicide is a large and growing public health problem. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes. Every year, many more people think about or attempt suicide than die by suicide. In 2017, 10.6 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million made a plan, and 1.4 million attempted suicide."

Tens of thousands of groups have been doing it for over a decade and the trend is growing. What causes most advocates to cringe, aside from the obvious, is there seems to no end to the flood of people making money off this, and no end to the heartache of veterans doing it.

The groups usually use names they think will attract the most attention.

Back in 2015, NPR did a report on how The Number 22: Is There A 'False Narrative' For Vet Suicide? They interviewed Keith Jennings for his input. The problem is, they did not fact check what he said.

"That number, if we talk about it out of context, it's questionable," Keith Jennings, Iraq combat veteran and clinical psychologist, says. He acts as chief science adviser for a North Carolina-based group called StopSoldierSuicide.org.

There is a problem with the name itself. Stop "Soldier" Suicide, used in context, would mean that they are trying to stop soldiers from committing suicide, not all of the services, and certainly not talking about veterans.

At the time NPR produced this article, the DOD report shows clearly that the following statement is also wrong.

So Smolenski and a team, in a study released this year, dug deeper. They found that vets who had served during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars commit suicide at a rate of about one a day — not 22.

The average of suicides within the military has been 500 a year since 2012. (Add in Active Components with Reserve totals.) Is that what the "team" looked at?

It would make sense however, aside from that, had they really "dug deeper" they would have discovered how many were not included in any of the reports from the DOD or the VA.

If you read Wounded Times, you have seen all the data and links. It is up to them to go and find them, but much like years ago, I offered to help them change the outcome, they were not interested in facts.


22Kill has been studied since they started. "In 2012, the Veterans’ Administration (VA) released a Suicide Data Report that found an average of 22 veterans die by suicide everyday. The 22KILL initiative started in 2013, at first just as a social media movement to raise awareness, and later became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in July of 2015." But had they spent enough time to even read the report? If they had, they would have noticed the number was an average from limited data collected from just 21 states. They would have seen that the majority of veterans in the report, were over the age of 50.

Had they invested time and energy to discover what had been done before the topic struck them?

While the conclusion is, much like this from Task and Purpose, "Likewise, awareness doesn’t do much. You can know a problem exists. That doesn’t mean you are any closer to solving the problem. There are a lot of diseases and societal issues with different color ribbons and special days for awareness, but not a lot of solutions. Veterans dying by suicide has been all over the news since the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal broke in April 2014."

Wounded Times has been covering veteran suicides since 2007, right after it started...and lost money every year since the work of changing the outcome matters a hell of a lot more than anything else. Before the move from Florida to New Hampshire, average page views were over 1,000 a day. Right now, after trying to rebuild from a two month break, it is about 600 a day.

As you can see, over 4 million since August of 2007.

Stop Soldier Suicides says, since they started they served 1,000+ has managed to take in over $3 million in 2018, but they are hardly the largest group.

So where exactly is your money going? Find something that will actually make a difference, like taking the time to know about the topic before you share the stunt. Make sure that what you read, is actually the truth, instead of words that stick in your brain. Until we start using words that change the outcome, we will keep contributing to it.

If you have a group that has been raising awareness, it is time to change the subject and earn the money by helping them stay alive!

Is “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act” more of the same? Probably.

Do reporters read the bills the president signs?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 4, 2020

If your email box is like mine, it was full of the latest "plan" to prevent veterans from committing suicide, “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act” but none of them seem to have thought about all the other "plans" or as they put it "efforts" to actually do what they claim the bill will do.

Start with this executive order going back to 2018

January 9, 2018
Trump expands mental health benefits to decrease suicide rates among new veterans
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to provide more benefits to service members transitioning from the military to civilian life in an effort to decrease veteran suicides.

Veterans who have recently left the military are between two and three times more likely to commit suicide than active duty service members, and nearly 20% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

The order directs the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs to submit a plan within 60 days to provide “seamless access to mental health treatment and suicide prevention resources.” read it here

That one did about as much good as this suicide prevention bill for police officers in 2019.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley to prevent police officer suicides with expanded mental health services will head to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The bipartisan bill authorizes $7.5 million annually over the next five years for suicide prevention programs and other treatment to assist officers and their families.

Hawley, R-Missouri, introduced the legislation following a Kansas City police officer’s suicide in February. It passed the House by unanimous consent Wednesday afternoon after clearing the Senate without opposition in May.

And yet, President Trump followed the other executive order with another one in March of 2019

The president made the announcement during a signing ceremony for an executive order aimed to address veteran suicides. Roughly 20 veterans per day take their own lives, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In 2016, the suicide rate among veterans was 1.5 times higher than non-veterans, according to the VA. The order creates a new Cabinet-level task force, run by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, but that also includes the defense, health and human services and homeland security secretaries. The task force's job is to create a "public health roadmap" to improve veterans' quality of life and end veteran suicides. It's unclear what that will look like yet.

In that video you'll hear this

Supporting veterans in distress is a critical priority for our entire administration - everybody in the administration. Last year, I signed into law the largest funding bill for the VA in its history, which included $8.6 billion for veterans in mental health services. I also signed an executive order directing the Department of Defense, Veteran Affairs, and Homeland Security to ensure our veterans have seamless access to mental health care and suicide prevention resources. These efforts focus on veterans the first year after they separate from military service when they are at the heightened-risk area.

There are more but you get the idea. You will also hear a lot more on money and other things they were claiming they would do.

I wonder if anyone bothered to actually read the bill?
President Trump signs Brindisi-authored veteran suicide prevention act

The bill requires the Comptroller General of the United States to “conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, and vacancy rates of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ Prevention Coordinators.” The job of a Suicide Prevention Coordinator is to identify veterans that are high-risk and make sure they receive appropriate care.

Judging by the news reports, no one did, but you can. Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act

AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act”.

SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES, WORKLOAD, AND VACANCY RATES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATORS.

(a) Assessment Required.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, training, and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators. Such assessment shall include a determination of—

(1) the extent to which the use and staffing of suicide prevention coordinators varies between Department facilities; and

(2) the extent to which the Secretary provides oversight of suicide prevention coordinators.

(b) Report To Congress.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report containing the findings of the assessment required by subsection (a).

In other words, more of the same we have seen in the last decade.

This one may actually make a difference.

H. R. 5516 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with States or to award grants to States to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 19, 2019
Mr. Levin of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with States or to award grants to States to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act”.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO AWARD CONTRACTS AND GRANTS TO STATES TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND WELLNESS, PREVENT SUICIDE, AND IMPROVE OUTREACH TO VETERANS.
(a) In General.—Chapter 63 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating sections 6307 and 6308 and sections 6308 and 6309, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 6306 the following new section 6307:
Ҥ 6307. Contracts and grants to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans

“(a) Purpose.—It is the purpose of this section to provide for assistance by the Secretary to States to carry out programs that promote health and wellness, strengthen the coordination, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs, and offer a high probability of improving outreach and assistance to veterans and the spouses, children, and parents of veterans, to ensure that such individuals are fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, any veterans and veterans-related benefits and programs (including State veterans programs) for which they may be eligible.

“(b) Contracts.— (1) The Secretary may enter into a contract with a State in order to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance health and wellness programs, comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs, and outreach by the Department and the State (including outreach with respect to a State, county, or other local veterans program).

“(2) As a condition of entering into a contract with a State under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require the State to submit to the Secretary a detailed plan for the use of any funds provided to the State pursuant to the contract and to meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary under subsection (c)(4).

“(3) Each contract entered into with a State under this subsection to carry out an activity shall include a requirement that the State carry out the activity through—
“(A) the county veterans service officers of the State; or
“(B) if a county veterans service officer does not exist in the State or exists only in portions of the State, an appropriate State, local, or tribal entity as determined by the Secretary.
“(c) Grants.— (1) The Secretary may award a grant to a State to be used—
“(A) to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance—
“(i) health and wellness programs;
“(ii) comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs;
“(iii) outreach activities; or
“(iv) activities to assist in the development and submittal of claims for veterans and veterans-related benefits; or
“(B) to increase the number of county veterans service officers serving in the State by hiring new, additional county veterans service officers.
“(2) A State that receives a grant under this subsection to carry out an activity described in paragraph (1)(A) shall carry out the activity through—
“(A) a county veterans service officer of the State; or
“(B) if a county veterans service officer does not exist in the State or exists only in portions of the State, an appropriate State, local, or tribal entity as determined by the Secretary.
“(3) (A) To be eligible for a grant under this subsection, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
“(B) Each application submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include the following:
“(i) A detailed plan for the use of the grant.
“(ii) A description of the programs through which the State will meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4).
“(4) (A) The Secretary shall develop and provide to the recipient of a grant under this subsection written guidance on outcome measures, policies of the Department, and procedures for applying for grants under this section.
“(B) The Secretary shall review the performance of each State that receives a grant under this section and shall make information regarding such performance publicly available.
“(C) In the case of a State that is a recipient of a grant under this subsection that does not meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary, the Secretary shall require the State to submit a remediation plan under which the State shall describe how and when it plans to meet such outcome measures. The Secretary must approve such plan before the Secretary may award a subsequent grant to that State under this subsection.
“(5) A grant under this subsection—
“(A) shall be used—
“(i) to expand existing programs, activities, and services;
“(ii) to hire new, additional county veterans service officers; or
“(iii) for travel and transportation to facilitate carrying out clause (i) or (ii); and
“(B) shall be used to supplement and not supplant State and local funding that is otherwise available.
“(6) A grant under this subsection may be used to provide education and training, including on-the-job training, for State, county, local, and tribal government employees who provide (or when trained will provide) veterans outreach services in order for those employees to obtain accreditation in accordance with procedures approved by the Secretary and, for employees so accredited, for purposes of continuing education.
“(7) A grant awarded under paragraph (1)(A) may be used to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance an activity carried out pursuant to a contract entered into under subsection (b).
“(d) County Veterans Service Officer Defined.—In this section, the term ‘county veterans service officer’ includes—
“(1) a local equivalent veterans service officer; and
“(2) a tribal veterans service officer or tribal veteran representative.
“(e) Funding.— (1) Amounts for the activities of the Department under this section shall be budgeted and appropriated through a separate appropriation account.
“(2) In the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department budget for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary shall include a separate statement of the amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the account specified in paragraph (1).
“(f) Authorization Of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, $50,000,000 to carry out this section.”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 63 of such title is amended by striking the items relating to sections 6307 and 6308 and inserting the following new items:
“6307. Contracts and grants to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans.
“6308. Outreach for eligible dependents.
“6309. Biennial report to Congress.”

President Trump is no different than other presidents on this one since we have heard over and over again what they said mattered, but the end result, showed they really didn't bother to change anything other than the name that was going on a repeat bill.

Veteran suicides count according to who is filling out the death certificate...and counting

When will the government care enough to get it right for veterans?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 27, 2019

When I read about more politicians seeking answers, I had to walk away from the computer. It is nothing we have not heard before and that is the most troubling thing of all. It is the same "efforts" seeking answers but there is never anyone held accountable for what has not happened.

So, let's begin with the letter that started me off.

Charlie Crist, Gus Bilirakis Want Ron DeSantis to Help Getting Accurate Information on Veterans’ Suicide Florida Daily December 26, 2019

Dear Governor DeSantis

We write to request your help in obtaining a true and accurate count of the annual number of veteran suicides in Florida. As members of Congress from Florida’s 12th and 13th Congressional Districts, we are honored to represent more than 110,000 of the 1,500,000 veterans who call the Sunshine State home. At a joint meeting of our Veterans Advisory Boards, local veteran leaders raised concerns that veterans suicide data may not be as up-to-date or accurate as it could be. We need the most accurate data possible to effectively tackle this epidemic facing our veteran community.

As you know, Congress tasks the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report annual veterans suicide data, along with general data on mortality and life expectancy. However, because not all veterans use the VA, they also rely on a combination of U.S. Department of Defense service records and state death certificates. Unfortunately, state death certificates do not always tell the full picture. After a death, veteran status is indicated on a form filled out by a funeral home; however, when local medical examiners take over death investigations in cases of suspected suicide, they do not necessarily investigate whether the deceased is a veteran. We are concerned that this dynamic is leading to an undercount of veteran suicides. (click the link for the of the letter.)

In other words, they still do not know how many veterans have committed suicide. So when do they admit that with the known percentages rising, what they have done added to the misery veterans face everyday?

When do they hold anyone accountable for any of this? When do they demand answers as to why the "data" seems to keep changing as if they are making it all up?

When does someone hold all the charities collecting millions for "raising awareness" accountable and make them stop taking advantage of veterans?

Top all that off with veterans like this show up in a crime report along with their family members.

Man killed in Christmas Day murder-suicide suffered from PTSD, court documents say
RIO RANCHO, N.M.
According to court documents, the father found dead inside a Rio Rancho home with his wife and their two sons had just retired from the Army and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rio Rancho police found Carlos Velasquez, 50; Marilyn Velasquez, 45; Robert Velasquez, 22; and Adrian Velasquez, 14, dead inside the family’s Rio Rancho home on Christmas Day.

All four had been shot to death. According to a search warrant, the gun was found underneath Carlos Velasquez’s body. Those documents say the couple was going through a divorce.

"It hurts me to see or hear all the screaming and the crying and the people that they've lost, just to see that was very heartbreaking for me and my family," said a neighbor who wants to remain anonymous.

 Next time you hear someone say they know how many veterans have committed suicide, make them aware of this. Then ask them "What is the point of telling veterans what they already know...how to die?"