SUPERHEROES: Committed to Reducing Montana Veteran Suicide Rates One Conversation and One Life at a Time
On Sunday the Park County Dugout was honored to attend the kickoff of a much needed program to help reduce suicide risk of Veterans. We met three Superheroes.
By Jeff Schlapp for Park County Dugout
On Sunday, I met three real-life Superheroes whose desire is to bring awareness and provide mental healthcare to veterans and reduce their risk of suicide: Rachel Caldwell, Cassie Jackson, and TJ Bell.
These superheroes understand that veterans sign a contract, volunteering to protect our country and to give up their lives if needed for you and me. And they understand that with that calling, veterans carry a heavy burden and often have mental healthcare needs that often go untreated.
Suffer Out Loud kicked off its new veterans program, Stronger than Silence, at MTNTOUGH gym in Bozeman on Sunday evening. TJ Bell, a veteran who served for eight years in the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army (2008-2016), helped launch the program.
TJ’s life has been one of service.
First in the Army, where he deployed to Afghanistan, and now he serves as a beacon of light for his brothers in arms, raising money and awareness of the battle that veterans fight every day when they return home, with mental health and their risk of suicide.
Data suggest that suicides among veterans across the U.S. are on the decline. But not in Montana. The Department of Veterans Affairs has released new data. Some say deaths among veterans in Montana are undercounted. The most recent data from the VA is a study from 2020. Deaths that are caused by drug overdose are widely underreported by the VA.
In the year 2020, 53 veterans living in Montana were lost to suicide, the same number as in 2019.
Currently, approximately 85,000 veterans call Montana home, making Montana the 43rd state in veteran population. However, when considering the percentage of veterans within the state's population, Montana ranks among the top 10, with 8.9% of Montana residents being veterans. This puts Montana in the fourth position in the country for the highest percentage of veterans.
Yet, Montana is the leading state with veteran suicide.
Why? A higher proportion of veterans ages 18 to 54 had a diagnosed mental health problem – primarily post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In addition, more male veterans ages 65 and older had physical health problems that contributed to their suicide compared with similar nonveterans.
This highlights the need to encourage veterans to share their mental or physical health struggles with others, which will prevent veterans from struggling alone.
Suffer Out Loud’s new pilot program, Stronger Than Silence, aims to bring awareness to the risk of suicide among veterans living in Montana, as well as provide long-term mental healthcare for Montana’s most at-risk population groups who face the greatest barriers to mental support through long-term group counseling and intervention trainings.
On Sunday, at the kickoff event for the new program, I met Rachel Caldwell, the Executive Director for Suffer Out Loud and its founder, Cassie Jackson, who, like me, lost her sister to suicide.
Jackson was driven to create Suffer Out Loud after suffering from real feelings of isolation. We shared the same feelings I had at the time of my sister’s death, that friends were afraid to talk about Jackson’s loss.
Suffer Out Loud describes these feelings perfectly on its website https://www.sufferoutloud.org/.
Montanans are known for grit, stoicism, and a spirit of independence. But these qualities can also have a dark side. When we feel stressed, isolated, lonely, or hopeless, that ability to endure without complaint can make it harder to break down our walls and talk about our struggles.
Suffer Out Loud is about having the courage to be vulnerable: talking about the tough feelings we’re experiencing; acknowledging when life isn’t the social media highlight reel it’s made out to be; having difficult conversations and asking for help; and checking in on those around us who might be fighting invisible battles.
Suffer Out Loud is changing the stigma around mental health. It takes courage to be open about these issues. But no matter how alone we might feel at times, we are in this together. When we ‘suffer out loud,’ we’re breaking the trail for more people to get the help every Montanan deserves.
Bell is doing his part to help veterans when he takes on the Tough Ruck Boston, a 26.2-mile ruck march (walking with a backpack) on April 20th. The Tough Ruck is a tribute to fallen military and first responders, and Bell plans on carrying the names of those lost to suicide on his rucksack. https://givebutter.com/ruckformtvets.
Bell told the group gathered on Sunday night that he would carry the names of 27 friends whom he had lost to suicide. He will join 1,000 others on Sunday who will ruck the 26.2-mile route carrying 35 pounds of weight in his backpack. This will be Bell’s first time participating in the Tough Ruck, but he plans on doing it annually to honor the memory of his friends and bring awareness to veterans’ need for better and quicker access to mental health.
In September, Bell will once again raise awareness by participating in the Those Who Serve 20k Ruck in Bozeman. The Dugout will have more information about the ruck in the upcoming weeks.
Another Veteran who was present on Sunday was Nick Jones, Founder and President of the Talons Reach Foundation.
Jones was a Marine for 12 years and a member of Special Operations Forces. He spoke of his own struggles with mental health and fighting suicidal ideations after he was discharged. He founded Talons Reach Foundation to help fellow SOF veterans by offering, among other programs, a five-day free Regeneration Program.
Listening to these two warriors speak about their own battles and desire to help fellow veterans was extremely inspiring. They’re not standing on the sidelines; rather, they are rolling up their sleeves and searching for solutions to combat veteran suicide.
You can help. First, if you can, donate to Bell’s Ruck this Sunday. Although he is being sponsored by the folks at MTNTOUGH gym, every pledge to Bell to complete his ruck helps support veterans and families of the Fallen.
Second, you can help Suffer Out Loud’s desire to combat mental health and suicide among the veteran population of Montana and Gallatin County by donating to their cause - even $1 helps provide counseling and will help reduce suicide among veterans.
According to its website, "Stronger Than Silence" seeks to lower rates of death by suicide among Montana's most vulnerable populations through accessible, ongoing, transformative mental healthcare.
The Suffer Out Loud pilot program will help Gallatin County Veterans, but it is seeking partners to expand mental health care and counseling in Park County soon.
Tonight, before you go to bed, in the safety of your own home, spend a few moments visiting the three websites. Read about the wonderful people and organizations that are caring for our local veterans and join their cause, recognizing that for some, the battlefield never goes away; they just bring it home with them.
