Scream about healing...not suicides!

I can't think of a better day to do this than Valentine's Day. It is the reason our veterans and military members risked their lives...for love. They loved so much, they were willing to die for someone else. 

That is the reason why they hurt so much afterwards. The depth of their emotional core is so strong, it caused them to want to serve in the first place, yet is also so strong it is trying to destroy them.

That is where PTSD lives. While there is no cure for PTSD, there is plenty of healing that is possible. They can live a better quality of life with the right help.

Join the fight to help them take back control over PTSD. After all, they defeated it when they survived the thing that started it, but no one told them that what they stopped being a victim and became a survivor!

From now until the end of February, there is a  campaign for this cause to go to Point Man International Ministries. It started back in 1984 working with veterans and families with Christian based support. We're not about raising money but about raising healing with peer support.

After the campaign is over, if you have a charity, I want you to take the design you see above and use if for your own campaign. The message needs to be spread out across as many places as they can find it!


Here is the link to the campaign page


Take your cell phones out, set it to video and start screaming about healing! Yell "defeat PTSD and fight to take your life back" or hold up a sign. Then add in whatever message you want them to know.

Contact me through any of those links and send me a link to your video or link it yourself if you can.

It is time we changed the conversation and put a new voice in their heads!

Mother hears son's donated heart beat in Navy veteran's chest

Mother hears son's donated heart beat in Navy veteran's chest
WBRC News
Tuesday, February 13th 2018

SALEM, VA (WSLS/CNN) – A mother who lost her son two years ago is now talking about her experience hearing his heart beat in another man’s chest and encouraging other families to consider organ donation.

Melinda Dillon remembers her son, 21-year-old Lucas, as full of life and energy. She says he had many friends, but most didn’t know about Lucas’ decade-long struggle with mental illness until he took his own life.

"His blood type and mine both were B-positive and part of his notation to us when he committed suicide was to stay positive,” Dillon said. "It's been hard. It's hard to stay positive."

Dillon got her son’s last message tattooed on her wrist along with his heartbeat, a rhythm she was able to hear in another man’s chest after Lucas’ heart was donated.

"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now,” said Dave, a 56-year-old Navy veteran, who was suffering from congestive heart failure.

Lucas’ heart now beats in Dave’s chest, something for which the 56-year-old says he’s thankful for every day.

"I was gone. I was dead gone, you know. I wasn't supposed to be here. Before Lucas, I wasn't supposed to be here,” Dave said.

Dillon reached out to Dave, and they met in person, where the mother was able to hear Lucas’ donated heart, beating in Dave’s chest.

read more here

Korean War veteran facing eviction over service dogs shot by police

Armed veteran, facing eviction over his service dogs, shot to death by police
Miami Herald
BY CHARLES RABIN AND DAVID OVALLE
February 12, 2018

A despondent military veteran — slated for eviction because of complaints about his service dogs, Roxie and Ranger — was shot to death after police say he pointed a gun at officers on Monday afternoon near Homestead.

Jonathan Rodriguez, a friend of Korean War veteran Raymond Bishop, said the 84-year-old Bishop was upset about a pending eviction. Police shot Bishop on Monday after being called to his apartment on a report of an armed man threatening suicide.
Charles Rabin crabin@miamiherald.com

Raymond Bishop, 84, died inside his home at the Hidden Grove apartments. Miami-Dade police officers had rushed to the home after receiving a call of an armed man threatening to kill himself.

At least four Miami-Dade officers wound up opening fire on Bishop from just outside the doorway where he stood, gun in hand — but only after pleading with him extensively to put his weapon down, law-enforcement sources told the Miami Herald. One officer even praised Bishop’s military background in an attempt to get him to surrender peacefully.

The dogs were inside the apartment and were not harmed, one source said.

Bishop, who served in the Korean War, was upset about the apartment complex’s eviction attempt, according to a neighbor. Bishop lived there, according to court records, under a Miami-Dade County government subsidy program.

“They were throwing him out. He had nowhere to go,” said neighbor Jonathan Rodriguez, who often fed Bishop and took him to the veterans hospital for medical treatment.
read more here

Linked from Stars and Stripes

DOD 3rd Quarter 2017 Suicide Report

Department of Defense Quarterly Suicide Report
For the third quarter of 2017, the military services reported the following:
• 67 deaths by suicide in the Active Component
• 26 deaths by suicide in the Reserves
• 38 deaths by suicide in the National Guard

Peer-to-Peer Assistance
DoD launched the new “Be There” program, which offers confidential peer coaching to active duty Service members, including National Guard and Reserve members and their families,through 24/7 chat, phone, and text. The DoD “BeThere” Peer Support Call and Outreach Center is staffed by peer coaches, who are veteran Service members and family members of Veterans,and aims to provide support for everyday problem solving, such as career and general life challenges.

Service members’ families who would like to learn more about the “BeThere” Call and Outreach Center or connection with a peer may visit www.betherepeersupport.org, call 844-357-PEER(7337), or text 480-360-6188

February: more standoffs between police officers and veterans

1 Identity released of handcuffed suspect who shot deputy
KHOU 11 News February 2, 2018

Matthew Vincent Cobb, 35, allegedly shot a deputy while handcuffed. The incident happened Wednesday evening and lasted until early Thursday morning at a home on Kiplands Way Drive in north Harris County.

2 Affidavit: Man pointed handgun at Jasper County sheriff during brief standoff
KTRE ABC 9 News February 9, 2018

After Duhon was transported to the sheriff’s office to await an evaluation by the Veteran’s Affairs Office, the deputy sat with him. Duhon eventually got “extremely agitated” and demanded they let him go home.

3 Armed suspect in standoff taken to hospital

Carolina Coast Online News Times February 10, 2018

According to Capt. Wilder, neighbors said the man, a Marine Corps veteran, had been in the hospital Friday night, but came home and was seen by neighbors Saturday morning outside the house with a gun and wearing a helmet and military clothing. 

4 Standoff at Rockland hotel ends after nearly five hours

Press Herald February 11, 2018 

During that time, he was ranting about a variety of things, saying he was a veteran and wanted more respect. He also said that all he wanted earlier in the morning was food and the dining area was not open, so he got the food himself.

5 Korean War Veteran facing eviction
February 13, 2018

A despondent military veteran — slated for eviction because of complaints about his service dogs, Roxie and Ranger — was shot to death after police say he pointed a gun at officers on Monday afternoon near Homestead. Raymond Bishop, 84, died inside his home at the Hidden Grove apartments. Miami-Dade police officers had rushed to the home after receiving a call of an armed man threatening to kill himself.

6 Police Wound Standoff Suspect Barricaded In Churchill Home
February 14, 2018

The sound of gunfire was in the air as SWAT officers tried to get the 50-year-old man inside of the home to surrender.“He is a Navy SEAL war veteran. They said he had high-powered weapons in his home,: said neighbor Tami Warfield.

7 Richmond man shot himself at home just before being arrested, police say
February 15, 2018

RICHMOND — A local man who shot and killed himself Thursday at his home was about to be arrested for allegedly receiving stolen property, including a motorboat, when he grabbed a handgun out of his truck and shot himself in front of authorities, according to police.

And yes, he was a veteran.

Family of Richmond man say PTSD, medication factors in shooting death
A Richmond man who shot and killed himself earlier this month as he was about to be arrested at his home over allegations of stolen property suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his four tours of duty with the Army in Iraq, where he witnessed his best friend since kindergarten get killed in a mortar attack, according to the man’s family.

8 Deputy stabbed in face by man while serving mental health order in Prince George's Co.
February 19, 2018

A family member had asked the sheriff’s office to serve the order on the 38-year-old veteran, who neighbors say the night before had been yelling and swearing and smashing sticks on the ground. After stabbing Romanchick, the man went up on the home’s roof. That led to an hours-long standoff that shut down nearby Route 1.

9 Veteran shot by deputies suffered from PTSD, parents say V.A. failed to provide better help 
February 20, 2018

Right out of high school Ryan Batchelder joined the army. "He went over to Afghanistan. He left as my little boy and when he came back he just wasn’t the same." said Lisa. Ryan’s mother Lisa says he never talked about his time in Afghanistan, only mentioning that one day he switched shifts with a friend, and that friend was killed in an attack.