The Community
If you’ve been around veterans long enough, you’ve heard someone mention the veteran suicide phenomenon plaguing our community. The statistics range from seventeen to twenty-two veterans a day who are taking their own lives. Those numbers span all generations of veterans. They include both combat and non-combat veterans. I’m not sure if this is something that has always gone on or if it’s a new occurrence. Previously, we didn’t have the weight of social media to track it. So maybe that’s why it feels so in your face now. Regardless, it’s almost all that most people seem to know about veterans these days. That’s a shame.
I don’t want to dismiss the issue, but spreading awareness does absolutely nothing to solve the problem. You can do twenty-two push-ups a day for eternity. That helps no one. This issue rises to the front of your social media feed with those gimmicks, but it solves zilch. Your pectoral muscles do grow, however. Virtue signaling isn’t the answer. No veteran on the verge of self-check-out will see your valiant calisthenic effort and lower the gun from their head. So, what can we do?
Community is key. Finding people to share life with, in whatever form, seems to be foundational to fixing this ugliness. For the last eight weeks, I’ve been leading a group of multi-generational veterans in a creative writing group. We spend more time talking than we do writing, most weeks. It has been life-giving. There are veterans from the Vietnam War through our current conflicts, and everyone in between. Some served during peacetime, some were Green Berets who served in the jungles, and some protested foreign occupation of any kind. All of us benefited from the unique voices within the group.
The thing I’ve loved most about interfacing with the varied perspectives within the group is that we may differ on politics, religion, and worldview, but we can voice opinions without reprimand. It doesn’t get heated and always stays respectful. We talk, we listen, and mostly we feel heard. America used to do this. I hope we can get back there someday. I learn something new from these people each week. I look forward to their unique thoughts and consider them friends. Having the throughline of military service allows us to mitigate the normal formalities of friend-making. We’ve all got a built-in common ground that removes pretense. It’s great.
It seems most of the issues surrounding the veteran community are isolation and a lack of mission. Many of us self-isolate for whatever reason and become brooding islands of desolation. It’s not a far stretch to go from lonely to dismal to dead. Finding a community to be a part of is integral to not letting those darker voices take residence. I’m not here to sell my writing group or the veteran book club I’m a member of. Try to find something that works for you. Hopefully, your life starts to shift from darkness to purpose as a result. It’s not a cure-all, but it’s a step in the right direction. I’ll say it again, community is key. Get plugged in somewhere and redefine your new mission post-service.
If you’re looking for a place to connect, check out Patrol Base Abbate.
If you’re interested in my writing classes, check out the Veterans Creative Arts Program
If you need other resources, shoot me a message and I’ll get you connected somewhere.
Stan, Great stuff. Please join us at the Heroes Wellness Collective. It's an online platform where we're building a community for Veterans, Healthcare Providers, Veteran-focused nonprofits, and Researchers to collaborate on building a community and helping others find healing. https://www.heroeswellnesscollective.org
You care so deeply and that is something we don’t see much anymore. Too much social media and the me, me, me today. I’m so glad you are following your passion and helping others. That’s what it’s all about! Love and hugs!!