While September marks National Suicide Prevention Month, suicide prevention is an ongoing mission at Hope For The Warriors (HOPE) and we serve our community every day of the year. 

Suicide can often be prevented, yet it’s a leading cause of death for people of all ages and is a severe public health problem with far-reaching impact.

Resources are available to prevent suicide; Hope is possible.

HOPE works to prevent suicide through our Wellbeing approach, which involves reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors.

Suicide is usually not the result of a single cause.

Often, circumstances in a person’s life have overwhelmed their ability to cope.  Protective factors are crucial to creating a boundary between a thought and an action.

Protective factors can include social support, financial wellness, a sense of purpose, belonging to a community, physical and emotional wellness, and a plan to reach out for support when a crisis occurs.

Ways to put the idea of protective factors into action might include the following:

• Seeking support from family and friends (sometimes social support can look like going to the movies or meeting for a cup of coffee)
• Being active in a group or club with others who enjoy the same hobbies
• Engaging in community or faith-based activities with peers
• Being active in mental healthcare
• Abstaining from drinking or using drugs
• Learning more about positive coping and problem-solving skills
• Limiting access to legal means
• Establishing stable housing and financial security, with help if needed

There can be warning signs that someone is considering suicide. Warning signs could include the following:

• Change in a person’s behavior when you are concerned about suicide or entirely new behaviors that are related to a painful event, loss, or change.
• If the person is talking about killing themselves, feeling hopeless, feeling they have no reason to live or are a burden, and feeling trapped.
• If a person is increasing their use of alcohol or drugs
• If a person begins withdrawing from activities, isolating from family or friends, sleeping too much or too little, telling people goodbye, giving away prized possessions, or being aggressive out of character.
• A person who is considering suicide may often display a mood of depression, anxiety, loss of interest, irritability, anger, education, or these symptoms may be suddenly relieved or improved.

Where to look for help:

If you are concerned about yourself or someone in your life, you can get tools to help facilitate your conversation online with a friend or professional.

Visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention onlineor call the Veterans Crisis Line, or call 988 and press 1. You can also text 838255

• The Columbia Protocol, also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), supports suicide risk screening through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask.
• The answers help users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, determine the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs.
• Last year, HOPE brought together a panel of veterans to speak about suicide prevention and awareness. To watch this video, visit: https://youtu.be/CnuaQ5qVb-4

If you are a post-9/11 veteran looking for support with financial, physical, or emotional wellness, social support, community connection, or training and education, Hope For The Warriors is here to help.

Written By: Jenna LaFratta MSW, LMSW

Jenna LaFratta is a military child, a gold star sister, and a licensed master social worker.  She feels it is one of her purposes in life to give back to the military community through volunteer work and social work.

Before coming to HOPE Jenna was a private therapist specializing in grief, postpartum depression, and eating disorders.  Not feeling like that was the right focus for her career in social work, she shifted her focus to military social work. 

At HOPE Jenna has worked as an RSW (regional social worker). Jenna provides veterans and their families support while working with them to help with financial needs.

Resources used in this blog:

1. BRIANNE SAMPSON, MSW, LCSW, LCAS, Director of Clinical Support & Emotional Wellness
2. https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
3. https://www.hopeforthewarriors.org/
4. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html#cdc_facts_stats_trends-far-reaching-impact
5. https://afsp.org/get-help/

*For more posts like this, Check out their M:M Expert Blog Page.