If Charities Cannot Get Number Right, What Else is Wrong?

Got up this morning and reading the second article so far about PTSD and suicides, my head is ready to just explode.

If they cannot get the number of veterans committing suicide right, then what else have they gotten wrong?

Both article involve motorcycle riders trying to change the outcome for far too many veterans.  Suicide in the veterans community is higher than in the civilian community.  Most states put the number at double the civilian rate.  With the CDC stating over 41,000 suicides per year, that means we are losing over 26,000 but you do the math.

The VA used the number "22" as an average and pointed out that involved just 21 states using limited data. The report came out 4 years ago and data collected was completed in 2010.  

The report also pointed out that the vast majority of veterans committing suicide within the VA data were over the age of 50. That number is 78%.

This is from North Dakota used "victims of PTSD" when it is clear, they are not victims but survived the trauma itself. The ride was dedicated to Joe Biel a veteran who committed suicide after 2 tours in Iraq.

“On average 22 veterans a day commit suicide due to PTSD. We've lost more people to PTSD the last ten years than we have to actual combat,” said Jory Stevenson, with Apathy Original Motorcycle Club

This report is out of Wisconsin about a fundraiser for equine therapy.  This has been shown to help veterans with PTSD but while that should have been the message, it was deluded with yet again a troubling claim.

“It is so important to get to them, 22 vets a day kill themselves,” said co-owner of the Trinity Equestrian Center Toni Mattson

If they cannot get the number right then what else have the gotten wrong? If you think that using the number is harmless, then you are part of the problem. Their lives should matter enough to actually learn the facts and stop reducing them down to an easy to remember number.  What about the over 50 veterans not included in that number? What about all the families within the over 50 range thinking it is only younger veterans society cares about? 

How can any of them care if they have not bothered to learn that the group with the highest suicide rate is being left out of all the efforts to save them? How can older veteran involved in all these efforts to raise funds not even know it is their generation of veterans suffering the most?

Nothing will ever change until people seeking to raise funds for what they want to do actually prove they know what they are talking about.

Suicide Calls Up 40 Percent

Suicide calls are up and so are suicides. So what good does all the "awareness" do when they reach the point where they do not want to live instead of getting what they need to heal?

Increase in suicide calls takes toll on 911 dispatchers
The Coloradoan
Sarah Jane Kyle
June 21, 2016

Increasing suicides and suicide threat calls have become "a daily occurrence" in the last five years, he said. Last year, 81 people died by suicide in Larimer County, nearing the record of 83 set in 2014.

Shortly after completing his training to become a 911 dispatcher in Fort Collins, Brendan Solano handled a call he'll never forget — a suicidal man "holding the gun in his hands."

Solano spent an hour on the phone talking with the man about his military service, his kids and anything else he could think of to keep him on the phone until police could intervene and help the man.

"I didn't know what to ask, what to say," said Solano, 24, who became a dispatcher nearly three years ago. "I didn't know this guy. He doesn't know me. ... Those calls are really hard to deal with."

And there have been many of those calls.

“It's another person calling in and asking for help. You've got to be able to get them help, just like anybody else.”

Suicide and suicide threat calls to Fort Collins 911 increased by 40 percent from 2011 to 2015, according to Fort Collins Police Services.
read more here

Fire Chief With PTSD Wrongfully Dismissed

EXCLUSIVE: Former Penticton Fire Chief discusses PTSD, lawsuit against City
Global News
By Angela Jung and Kimberly Davidson
June 22, 2016

PENTICTON — A former Penticton Fire Chief is suing the City for wrongful dismissal and several other claims.

Wayne Harold Williams, 56, served the City of Penticton with a notice of civil claim on June 21, 2016.

In an exclusive interview with Global News, Wayne Williams says over the span of four days in February 2015, the fire department responded to three major fires.

One of those calls irrevocably changed his life. It was a house fire, but it was no ordinary blaze because a body was found inside; the man had committed suicide.

Williams believes this incident triggered his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
read more here

PTSD Veteran Waited Days After Calling Crisis Line

Veterans Crisis Line following 48 hour response time
WTVM News
By Tiffaney Bradley, Reporter
June 22nd 2016

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)
A veteran who fought in two combat tours said he was left neglected when he needed help the most. He called a crisis hotline but didn't get a response for days.

Benjamin Burks is a proud Marine.

"I did two combat tours to Iraq,” said Burks.

Now, he said he's fighting another war, post-traumatic stress disorder.

When he needed someone to talk to, he called the Veterans Crisis Line but didn't hear back for two days.

"I called back the next day which was past the 24 hours they said they would call back,” said Burks. “And,I waited another 24 hours and they did call.”

Burks worries the long wait time could be devastating for someone suffering from P.T.S.D.

"Why is there a 24-hour waiting period for somebody that could be or going to harm their self," said Burks.

Crisis Services of North Alabama is listed as a resource agency on the Veterans Crisis Line's website but there's no affiliation.
read more here

WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

Iraq Veteran Bobby Henline Has Big Dreams and Burgers Too

Wounded Veteran Hopes to Inspire By Opening Restaurant, Hiring Vets
Epoch Times
By Sherley Boursiquot
June 22, 2016

Richard Brown, a Korean war vet and founder of Biggie’s Great Burgers and Shakes. Henlin shared his dream with Brown and said he wanted to partner up with Biggie’s, simply because he loves burgers, he said.

Bobby Henline

(COURTESY BOBBY HENLINE)

Bobby Henline nearly lost his life fighting for his country.

He deployed to Iraq three times with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 3rd Armored Calvary regiment.

Three weeks into his fourth tour in Iraq—on April 7, 2007—Henline’s Humvee was blown up by a roadside bomb. He was the only survivor of five soldiers.

Henline was burned over 38 percent of his body; he spent 6 months in the hospital and was in an induced coma for about 3 weeks.

He had no ears, no eyelids, and some of his teeth were missing.

His left hand was eventually amputated, and he underwent therapy for 2 years. He has had 47 surgeries to date.

“I’m a wounded vet,” Henline, 44, said.

Wounded, yes, but he did not stop living—thanks largely to an occupational therapist who persuaded him to use his clever sense of humor to do stand-up comedy.

“Joking is how I dealt with everything,” Henline said. He has now been doing stand-up comedy and motivational speaking for 7 years.
read more here

Fort Hood Soldier From Ohio Died At Temple Hospital

Fort Hood soldier dies at Temple hospital
Killeen Daily Herald
June 24, 2016

FORT HOOD — Fort Hood officials released the name of a soldier who died June 22 from an illness at Scott and White Hospital in Temple.

Chief Warrant Officer-3 Michael Steven Adkins, 37, whose home of record is Wooster, Ohio, entered active-duty military service in January 1997 as a quartermaster technician. He was assigned to the 206th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Hood since 2013.

Adkins deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from January 2002 to August 2003, March 2004 to January 2005 and from July 2009 to July 2010. He also deployed in support of Operation New Dawn from June 2011 to November 2011.
read more here

Remains of Vietnam War MIA Sgt. 1st Class Alan Boyer Buried

Long-missing Missoula soldier finally buried in Virginia
The Associated Press
June 24, 2016

After 48 years, the remains of a long-missing Vietnam War veteran

are being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

(Photo: AP)

MISSOULA — After 48 years, the remains of a long-missing Vietnam War veteran are being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The Missoulian reports that Army Sgt. 1st Class Alan Boyer was buried on Wednesday by his sister, Judi Bouchard, of Florida. Both Bouchard and Boyer moved from Illinois to attend the University of Montana in the 1960s before Boyer left to join the Army.
read more here

Marine Laid To Rest Three Months After Being Left to Die

St. Petersburg Marine given proper burial, 3 months after death
WFLA News 8
By Jamel Lanee'
Published: June 23, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – Thunderstorms prevented the proper burial of a Marine who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Tampa.

On Thursday, Private First Class Lagarian Sharkey was given the burial he deserved.

It comes three months after his death. Family could not lay him to rest at Bay Pines National Cemetery because of heavy rain.

“I was a bit sad, but I wanted it to be done properly. So today, that’s why we’re here now,” said his mother, Chavon Sharkey.

Vincent and Chavon said their son was the victim of a hit and run. His case remain unsolved.

“No word of who hit him or as to exactly what happened,” said Chavon Sharkey. “So I’m looking for answers to find out what happened that night. If anyone saw anything or heard anything, We want them to come forth and help us.”
read more here

Airman Intercepted By Deputies Committed Suicide

UPDATE

"The man did not show up to work at Port San Antonio Friday morning, but notified his colleagues that he "left a package with letters in it on his front porch," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rosanne Hughes said in a statement." My San Antonio

Sources: Suspect en route to commit shooting on base intercepted, commits suicide
KENS Eyewitness News 5 San Antonio
Staff
June 24, 2016

Officials have not yet identified the man that committed suicide, but said that he is an active airman.

A man who was en route to a local military base, reportedly to attempt to commit a shooting, instead turned the gun on himself after he was intercepted by deputies, according to law enforcement sources.

The suspect was cornered by law enforcement at Culebra and 151 near a Target store just after 12:30 p.m.

Before deputies could take him into custody, he shot and killed himself, according to sources.
read more here

OEF OIF Veteran Survived Combat, Killed in Hometown

Purple Heart veteran survives two tours in Middle East, murdered in hometown
WTVM News 9
Lauren Bale Reporter
Friday, June 24th 2016

A man served two tours in the Middle East only to be shot and killed back in his hometown. (Source: Family)

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)
A man served two tours in the Middle East only to be shot and killed back in his hometown.

Friday family members remembered Josh McLemore, a decorated war veteran killed after a dispute in Decatur.

Police arrested Scott Dutton and charged him with murder. Investigators said Dutton punched McLemore in the face and fired one round at the victim's feet before firing a fatal shot into his abdomen.

Josh was a decorated war veteran. He served a tour in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"They hit an IED in Iraq,” his mother Janice McLemore said. “And he had some shrapnel go through his head."

Despite his injuries, Josh pulled his fellow soldiers to safety.
read more here
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