24 hours ago, the US Department of Veterans Affairs released a preliminary report about veteran suicide in America. Combined Arms took some of the information and created an infographic to highlight some of the information and how it impacts Houston.
Information is good to have, but acting upon it will create the solutions. The VA states that they will have a more detailed report coming out by the end of the month. Common belief in the past has placed veteran suicide rate at about 22 a day, but that was based on estimates from data procured from only half of the states. This new study is more in-depth and looks for data that can help find patterns and triggers in veterans who are in danger of committing suicide within the month.
Combined Arms works to collaborate with many organizations in the greater Houston area to help combat veteran depression and suicide related tendencies. The info graphic below can help you and your battle buddies to stay in the loop about how to stay in the positive and look out for each other.
Emotional and mental health are important in everyone's life, which is why the organizations listed in the info-graph provide services to veterans and their family members. It is also important to realize that emotional/mental health is not limited to professional counseling or group therapy. Just like taking the stairs versus riding an elevator will help out your physical health, finding outlets and resources that empower you to grow will also affect your mental health in a positive way.
Here are links to the resources listed. Share with your friends and let them know that Houston is here for veterans.
Author's Note: We are aware that many of these orgs provide services outside of the categories on the infograph. We tried to put them in the column that best represents their realm of service. Also, some of the orgs listed above use Facebook to connect to Houston directly. We have linked to those Facebook groups or pages in order to provide the best connection.