Episode 39 - Suicide Prevention is Public Health

Every day, 17 Veterans take the actions to end their own life.  While this number is a decrease in years past, it is still entirely too high and a main reason that suicide prevention is one of the VA's highest priorities.  One of the key facets to this battle is fighting the loneliness and isolation a lot of Veterans feel both during the holidays and as weather changes, and also the transition from military life to civilian life with regards to routine and camaraderie.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Alphonso Gibbs Jr. and Ben Starks, two of our suicide prevention coordinators, about how we're looking at facing the challenges of socialization and loneliness as it impacts Veteran suicide and also how they're taking a public health approach to further reducing the number of suicides from 17 to 0.