Stop letting suicide awareness take away hope!

Out of Nevada, there is this reminder of what it is like for far too many veterans thinking about committing suicide. 

Nevada is the 6th highest rate for veterans committing suicide in the nation.

Hopelessness, feeling like there's no way out

Anxiety, agitation, sleeplessness, mood swings

Feeling like there is no reason to live

Rage or anger

Engaging in risky activities without thinking

Increasing alcohol or drug abuse

Withdrawing from family or friends

Frequently talking about death or suicide

Self-destructive behavior such as drug abuse, weapons, etc.

The presence of these signs requires immediate attention.

If one of these "awareness" raisers wonders what they are doing wrong...you just got the answer everyone needs to be made aware of! Reminding them of veterans giving up, does not give them hope back. It just takes it away!

Villains getting more attention than veterans?

Are you supporting veterans or villains?

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 21, 2018

This is the month when most Americans think about our veterans because of Veterans Day. The thing is, everyday is Veterans Day because they never stop being a veteran.

"...people donate more than $2.5 billion annually to the over 40,000 American charities with military-related missions."

If we fail to pay attention to what veterans need, they will still be used by groups and veterans will wonder if anyone really cares.

There is a lot of confusion about most charities. I got into one of those discussions yesterday. While all veterans served this country since the beginning, not all charities serve all veterans equally.

Charity Navigator has a list of charities focusing on veterans

The Federal Trade Commission, along with 70 other agencies, just announced 100 law enforcement actions across all 50 states against fraudulent charities stealing from individuals looking to give to nonprofits that support veterans and military members. During certain times of the year, we make time to honor the sacrifices many brave individuals have made and continue to make in order to keep us all safe. Americans love, respect, and honor our troops all year round -- in fact, people donate more than $2.5 billion annually to the over 40,000 American charities with military-related missions.We've curated this list of highly-rated trustworthy organizations providing a variety of services from lifting troops' morale to offering financial assistance for food, rent, utilities, and medical expenses. All of these organizations demonstrate financial responsibility and a commitment to accountability and transparency best practices.

As with all things, you need to find the charity itself to see who they are supposed to be working to help.

Wounded Warrior Project, for example, has this as their mission statement.

The mission of Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Our purpose is: to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women; to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.

But they do not do anything for the other generations, just the OEF and OIF generation.

WWP began as a small, grassroots effort to provide immediate assistance when a warrior of this generation was injured. We felt we could do the most good by providing more comprehensive programs and services to the newly injured, rather than spread ourselves too thin by trying to help all veterans. We also knew there were many terrific veterans' organizations for warriors from previous conflicts, but very few focused on serving our newest generation.

Also with them, you do not know where the funds are going since they give millions in grants to colleges. 

Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) announced it has awarded $2.3 million in grants to organizations also serving this generation of injured service members and their families. Since its inception in 2012, the WWP Grant Program has awarded grants to over 85 different organizations, totaling more than $9.1 million.

Another key factor in all of this is none of the "suicide awareness" groups are on the lists. If you try to find out how many groups are doing the "awareness" stunts, you end up finding the results of groups doing prevention instead.

Having fun, doing stunts and having parties because veterans are killing themselves, is repulsive. It abuses the veterans they claim they care about. 

The most famous group is 22 Kill. This is their story....

History of 22KILL:

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. 22KILL is committed to researching and understanding the common issues connected with suicide; including Post Traumatic Stress and depression, the various circumstances that they stem from, their effects on the individual, and the impact that suicide has on family, friends, and the community as a whole.

And yet, they seemed to have failed at researching the report that got them started. It stated clearly the "number" was not be taken as a whole because it was limited data from just 21 states.

For the rest of the results of the stunts, we find that right here.

Less veterans alive, more suicides, higher percentage of known suicides. Yet most of the groups do not even mention how many were not counted...or even have a clue about them.

They are not on the top 75 PTSD sites from Feedspot. This site is number 10!

So, if you want to keep having fun because veterans are killing themselves, think of what the result will be. The only stunts veterans have been doing lately are committing suicide in public so that you will be aware they were failed by all the 40,000 groups collect $2.5 billion a year!

Suicide Awareness is not suicide prevention!

Workers of iniquity

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 18, 2018

People seem to be under a delusion that "suicide awareness" is important. None of them can explain what the purpose actual is. 

Do not be under the delusion that suicide "awareness" has anything to do with prevention. It does not! All it does is offer a veteran who is contemplating it, that many others gave up on themselves.

Talking about veterans killing themselves, is something they already know how to do. Still, those who defend the stunts, claim it is not a harmful, while being unable to explain how it is helpful to anyone.

Matthew 7:21-23 King James Version (KJV)

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

A simply analogy: you find the courage to open up to a friend about something that is seriously grieving you. 

They listen. 

Then they respond with, "That happened to someone I know and they killed themselves." 

That robs you of hope. 

Yet when they respond with, "Someone I know went through the same thing. They got help and they are happier now." That restores hope.

Do no dare think that thousands of groups all over the country, calling attention to veterans killing themselves, have invested anything into changing the outcome. It is so easy to repeat a number, without knowing where that number came from, or how many more have been uncounted.

What is hard, is gaining the knowledge, and doing the work to actually restore hope. Show them that support from others can lead to healing.

When they are shown they were not worth the simple gesture of reading the reports the awareness raisers failed to do, their thoughts of being worthless are reenforced.

When they are shown that they do matter to others, then there is healing.

In 2015, a report came out on the cost of suicides. What was stunning is that attempted suicides also came with a heavy price.

Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States

Some of the workers of iniquity get caught.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A nonprofit led by former Orlando mayoral candidate Neil "Paul" Paulson Sr. misled people who donated more than $20 million to his charity thinking the funds would go toward helping provide services to veterans,  Attorney General Pam Bondi said.Paulson and his nonprofit Help the Vets Inc. recently settled with Florida, California, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Oregon, in a lawsuit that alleges that between 2014 and 2017, Paulson collected donations across the U.S. "based on misleading promises that the donations would assist veterans by providing funding for grants, medical care, a suicide prevention program, therapeutic family retreats and similar programs," according to a news release from Bondi's office.

Fake charity pledged to fight veteran suicide. Instead, it kept millions of dollars.

Ten veterans charities that allegedly misused millions of dollars in donations are facing sanctions from California amid a nationwide crackdown on organizations that appear to manipulate the public’s goodwill for military service members.The biggest alleged offender was Help the Vets, a charity that reportedly misused $20 million it raised over four years and did not make good on its promises to help veterans.Some of its fundraising appeals promoted a veteran suicide prevention program that did not exist, according to an injunction released by the Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Trade Commission.The charity’s promotions used urgent language, such as, “22 VETERANS WILL DIE EACH DAY UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING.” The number refers to Department of Veterans Affairs studies that estimate 20 to 22 veterans take their own lives every day. 

Some lost support while others still gain attention for themselves. You know, the ones having events to have fun. 

If that does not nauseate you enough, go to one of the events and see what a good time they are having...because veterans are killing themselves.

Suicide Awareness is not suicide prevention!

What is wrong with the supports who find no fault in having a good time because veterans are killing themselves?

This is the chart from the latest VA Suicide Report

Notice how the numbers increased after Suicide Awareness started? Notice how the number of veterans decreased, which means that it all got worse for veterans needing to be aware of how to prevent taking their own lives?

Some fight the works of iniquity.

Former NIMH head Thomas Insel recently made a remarkable concession. He acknowledged that the biomedical framework he adopted while directing $20 billion dollars in NIMH research funds failed to "move the needle" in improving the lives of the millions of people with mental illnesses. Here is his full quote: “I spent 13 years at NIMH really pushing on the neuroscience and genetics of mental disorders, and when I look back on that I realize that while I think I succeeded at getting lots of really cool papers published by cool scientists at fairly large costs—I think $20 billion—I don’t think we moved the needle in reducing suicide, reducing hospitalizations, improving recovery for the tens of millions of people who have mental illness.”

It is time to kill the business they are in because it is one with a deadly outcome!

UPDATE
This is from one of those events that happened yesterday.

Nov. 17th, 2018

Challenge 22 - 2.2 Mile "Ruck" Walk and Block Party

Come out to join the Winter Garden American Legion Post 63, in partnership with the Crooked Can Brewery,  and our community for a walk , block party and a day of camaraderie to raise awareness for PTSD and Suicide in Veterans. 

Join us for a patriotic opening ceremony, the walk, raffles, food, drink, kids activities, live music and so much more!  You are encouraged to bring your Ruck (hiking pack) if you have one, but it is not required.  Walk the full 2.2 miles or stop after the first leg as we will pass back by the Post after the first 1/2 mile.  We are hoping to have some of our WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets participating along with the younger generations.  

Bring your family and friends to join the hike or just come out to enjoy the festivities, there will be something for everyone! Again, the goal is to have a great time, while raising awareness to a tragic epidemic of 22 suicides per day due to PTSD and lost HOPE.

Registration and sign in will begin at 10:30am. The opening ceremony, which will begin at 11:00am, will be followed by the 2.2 mile walk.  Immediately after the walk, we will have an afternoon of fun, with live music, food, Crooked Can beer, kids activities and so much more.  The live entertainment will end at 5pm, but the Plant Street Market businesses will remain open into the evening.

2.  What is a "Ruck"?  It is a pack that the military uses to carry their gear on hikes.  Typically they weight 50-100lbs.  

No requirement to carry anything, but you are welcome to bring your own pack (filled or empty...no one will know)

Suicide Awareness groups need to Stand Down!

Why think about only one way out of pain?

This is the result of all the suicide awareness groups delivering their deadly message. It is all over social media and in every email box filling up with stunts being pulled in your area.

If you have one of these groups, you need to stand down so that the rest of us can do our jobs. If you are serious about changing the outcome, then help us!

Keep all the money you are getting. Most of us do not want it because most of us have been doing the work for free! For the sake of those we are all supposed to be trying to help, help us get the message out that they can heal and suicide is not the only way out of their pain!

Stand Down on the message of death and stand up the message of hope that they can heal. Fight PTSD and #TakeBackYourLife instead of constantly reminding them of how far to many never heard they could!

This video is about first responders, Firefighters and Police Officers as well as National Guards members. It won an award from the IFOC back in 2008 when it was originally uploaded on YouTube.

Local first responder: ‘I felt the only way out was to kill myself’

WHIO
By: Gabrielle Enright
October 25, 2018

Like many full-time organizations, his deputies have access to mental health professionals. However, many first responders argue that more help is needed especially for small police and fire departments with part-timers and volunteers.

Marshall Gorby/Staff

— For most of us, the worst thing that happens at work is our boss gets angry or we lose a client. But for our first responders, work means a daily encounter with danger and death. Ben Norrod's 13 years as a Jefferson Township Firefighter had a heartbreaking start.

"Three months into my career, I had my first full (cardiac) arrest and it was a two-year old child," said Norrod. "We got back to the station and I just sat here and cried and I almost didn't want to do it anymore."

"The pain, it was overwhelming. I felt the only way out was to kill myself," Norrod said.

He is not alone. Suicide rates among first responders in the U.S. are soaring. The latest statistics show 103 firefighters and 140 police officers died by suicide last year. That is compared to 93 firefighters and 129 police officer line of duty deaths.

"If it takes one life, it's a problem," said Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer.
read more here

Report shows emergency responders are committing suicide more than line of duty deaths

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live)- "I think a lot of it has to do with the tendency of firefighters, police officers, EMS workers. We see a lot day to day, and we kind of hold it in a lot. We don't really talk about it," says Dan Fuller, Chief at West Fargo Fire Department.

Emergency responders put their lives on the line to protect and keep us safe.

With the unpredictability of the job comes a lot of stress, which can cause mental health challenges.

A new report shows that in 2017, firefighters and police officers are taking their own lives more times compared to them being killed in the line duty.

First responders are the first ones on scene, seeing some of the most tragic events. This can cause mental health challenges for some firefighters and police officers.

"The job itself is stressful because of the situations that we go to every single day, they're different from one to the next," says Jessica Schindeldecker, Fargo PD Crime Prevention and Public Information Officer.

A report shows that in 2017, there were 103 firefighters and 140 police officers who committed suicide compared to the 93 firefighters and 129 police officers who died in the line of duty.
read more on Valley News Live

‘Ask for Help:’ Husband of First Responder Speaks Out after She Took Her Own Life

SACRAMENTO -- Suicides among first responders are not uncommon.

It's a pain Marc Zayas knows very well.

"She was incredible. She did a lot in her short amount of time," Zayas said, remembering his wife, Chelsea Fox.

Zayas' 36-year-old wife was a former firefighter and veteran 911 dispatcher for the California Department of Forestry for the past 12 years. She excelled at her job but with that came overwhelming stress, chronic back pain and issues with opioid addiction.

"We're dealing with people on their worst day," Zayas said. "They don't call 911 for anything. So, you're dealing with someone on their worst day."

That stress ultimately led to her to take her own life last month.read more on FOX 40 News

CHP officer dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound

A California Highway Patrol officer killed himself Tuesday afternoon near Elk Grove with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the CHP said.

Officer Sean Poore, 31, a nine-year veteran, was found dead in his patrol vehicle, the CHP said.

Sacramento County coroner’s records show he was found on Lambert Road beneath the Interstate 5 overpass, and broadcasts of scanner traffic maintained by Broadcastify.com indicate fire and Elk Grove police were dispatched to the scene shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of an “unresponsive” person.read more on Sacramento Bee

Consider this the Veterans in Other News for today.

Florida and Texas tied for first place...in a very bad way
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 19, 2018

Consider this the Veterans in Other News for today.

Last week I got into a conversation about one of the "22" a day charities that I constantly complain about. I had to apologize about one group called Mission 22. The person I was talking to is heavily involved with them. He informed me that they are doing more than using the number. They are taking a personal interest in the veterans all by themselves.

One veteran was suicidal and they formed a chain to get someone to him. His life was saved. So yes, I was wrong and I am happy to admit that. I thought they were all the same, but they are not. Just goes to show how important it is to actually believe something is important enough to invest the time to discover what you need to know.

That got me thinking about how all of us need to do a better job when it comes to assuming anything. While trying to digest the crow I had to eat, I looked up Mission 22. I did not notice anything about this being only for post-9 11 veterans. That was a huge plus, as you will discover further down.

For the most part, too many hacks just saw the number, did no research other than how to set up their 501 c 3, and they ran with that. And that was the biggest reason of all contributing to the results you will now read.
The worst thing is, that for all the groups here in Florida, doing the "awareness" stunts, we have the highest total of known suicides, right along side of Texas. 

Actually both states have more known suicides than California. Florida and Texas had 530 while California had 490. Click the link and then see how your state did.

Florida has 1.5 million veterans, with about 76,000 OEF and OIF. Meaning the largest group of veterans are over the age of 50, which happen to be the majority of the known veterans dying by suicide.

And as for Florida and Texas, when the VA said they used the CDC numbers for veterans, the CDC said they have incomplete data for both states in the civilian population. Meaning they do not have a complete idea of how many veterans committed suicide.

7.1 million veterans used some services from the VA, so we know they are in their system. We do not know how many have not been included in any research. 


We also know that as of 2016, the year the data stops, there were 300,000 with other than honorable discharges, as reported by The New York Times and later by several other sources.

Since 2001, more than 300,000 people, about 13 percent of all troops, have been forced out of the military with less-than-honorable discharges. Congress has recognized in recent years that some of these discharges were the fault of dysfunctional screening for PTSD and other combat injuries, and it has put safeguards in place to prevent more — including requirements for mental health professionals to review all discharges

From Military Times

VVA officials estimate as many as 300,000 veterans nationwide may have been improperly dismissed from the service, leaving them more vulnerable to depression and suicide because of a lack of veterans health services.

Yet again, that is from OEF and OIF veterans, but not Vietnam veterans. This is what Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam Veteran, was trying to correct back in 2014, as reported on Army Times.

The suit estimated that about one-third of the 250,000 other-than-honorable discharges issued to Vietnam era veterans may have been PTSD-related. 

So, there you have the facts and the results with the virtual elimination of over half a million veterans from all the "facts" that the press has avoided mentioning within the big story of "22" or "20" veterans taking their own lives.

Still with all of that, this is the most telling thing of all. When you look at the data from the VA, it clearly shows the most alarming thing of all. The daily "reported" total of suicides in the veterans population has remained unchanged, yet the number of living veterans has dropped by over 4 million.
  
Known veteran suicides from 2005 to 2016

And as for current military members, it is as bad as it was back in 2012 with an average of 500 per year. This is as of the second quarter of 2018 from the Department of Defense.

How is your state doing on Veteran Suicides?

The Department of Veterans Affairs data on veteran suicide for 2016. How is your state? Considering Florida and Texas tie for 1st place, it is interesting to see what other states are reporting. 

The challenge for reporters is to actually read the report this time, and they stop the slogan of "22 a day" since that number has been proven to be false. The VA warned about it being taken from limited data from just 21 states. Yet reporters must have thought, "hey that sounds good to me" so they pushed it. They still are. Check your state and then get an eyeopener at the end.

The challenge for us is, discovering how many veterans charities are in your state claiming to be "raising awareness" at the same time?

ALABAMA

An estimated 34.2 Alabama veterans per 100,000 died by suicide in 2016, compared to the national veteran suicide rate of 30.1 per 100,000. Among the civilian population, the national suicide rate drops to 17.5.

The state of Alabama boasts a higher percentage of its population as veterans. In 2016, the VA found 9.8 percent of the adult population of Alabama to be veterans, compared to 6.6 percent nationally. A total of 373,761 veterans live in our state. WAFF 48 News

128

ALASKA

17

ARIZONA

227

ARKANSAS

79

CALIFORNIA

490

COLORADO

175

CONNECTICUT

36

DELAWARE

24

WASHINGTON DC

LESS THAN10

FLORIDA 

530

GEORGIA 

202

HAWAII

11

IDAHO

58

ILLINOIS

162

INDIANA

70

IOWA

64

KANSAS

60

KENTUKY

108

LOUISIANA

75

MAINE

29

MARYLAND

67

MASSACHUSETTS

68

MICHIGAN

159

MINNESOTA

95

MISSISSIPPI

50

MISSOURI

154

MONTANA

42

NEBRASKA

27

NEVADA

According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs., Nevada's veteran suicide rate is also significantly higher than the national rate. 8 News Las Vegas

The vast majority are men of all ages. The local V.A. Hospital in North Las Vegas helps more than 60,000 military members. About 20,000 of them seek mental health treatment.

107

NEW HAMPSHIRE

33

NEW JERSEY

67

NEW MEXICO

71

NEW YORK

153

NORTH CAROLINA

184

NORTH DAKOTA

16

OHIO

245

OKLAHOMA

110

OREGON

122

Oregon advocates target alarming veteran suicide rate

One such tragedy happens in Oregon every 3 days

PENNSYLVANIA

263

PUERTO RICO

LESS THAN10

RHODE ISLAND

16

SOUTH CAROLINA

120

SOUTH DAKOTA

18

TENNESSEE

156

TEXAS

530

UTAH

59

VERMONT

25

VIRGINIA

196

WASHINGTON

174

WEST VIRGINIA

50

WISCONSIN

132

WYOMING

23

Right now they are jumping on the "decrease" in suicides while not mentioning the fact the number of veterans living at the time, has gone down every year. The rate has gone up until 2016 when it went down by only .4%.

Do not let them get away with pushing a slogan this time too. If not, then what do you think the next report will look like? 

Most attempted suicide survivors did not seek help first

Many soldiers who attempt suicide have no prior mental health diagnosis
Journalist's Resource
Chloe Reichel

Soldiers without a documented history of mental health concerns were much more likely to attempt suicide early in their service than those with a documented diagnosis history. Nearly 60 percent of the attempts among soldiers without a history occurred in their first year of service, compared with 20 percent for those with a history.

One risk factor unique to those without a mental health diagnosis history was enlisting at a young age – before age 21.

Over one-third of a sample of American soldiers who attempted suicide did not have a prior mental health diagnosis, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry finds. But the risk factors that predict suicide attempts in these soldiers are largely the same as those for soldiers who previously have been diagnosed with a mental health issue.

Dr. Robert J. Ursano, a psychiatrist at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and lead author of the study, said this points to the importance of broad screening efforts.

“There are those at risk who never come into specialty care,” Ursano told Journalist’s Resource.

This research gets at how to better identify this population.

The study looked at administrative records belonging to a sample of 9,650 enlisted U.S. Army soldiers with a documented suicide attempt occurring between 2004 and 2009. Nearly three-quarters of the sample was male. The researchers looked at the risk factors among these soldiers, comparing the factors involved for those with and without a prior history of mental health concerns.

Veterans as a group are at a higher risk for suicide than civilian adults — 22 percent higher, according to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Nationally, across the whole population, suicide rates are increasing, according to statistics issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
read more here

This does not mean they did not have PTSD. It means they did not seek mental health help!