Suicide Prevention 5K 

Have you heard of the #22Pushup Challenge for #22Kill?  The goal is to raise awareness for Veteran and Service members who commit suicide, which is a statistical average of 22-day, thus the emphasis on the number “22.”   (Although there’s greater awareness around the 22-day average, there’s a new study that’s just been released from the VA with a slightly lowered 20-day average).  Here at PTI, we’re committed to supporting our Veterans and we are glad to have a great relationship with our local VA Hospital.

PTI was originally founded by a Veteran who wanted to help other Veterans.  Seeing that our “magic formula” of putting people first worked really well in terms of client outcomes, we expanded our services to helping anyone and everyone because, in the end, we care about the greater community of Baton Rouge and want to see people leading healthy and productive lives.

We want to spread the word about an upcoming benefit for suicide prevention, the Fearless 5K Run, which is sponsored by the Louisiana National Guard and LANGEA.  This is the first year for the run and we want to help make it a success.  Here’s the quick details:

When: Saturday September 10, 2016

Where: Fort Randolph 135 Riverfront St., Pineville, LA 71360

Check-In: 7:30 – 9:00 AM.

Race begins at 9:00 AM.

If you’re interested in participating in the run, you can register here.

While we’ve garnered more awareness about Veteran suicide and the difficulties of re-entry into the civilian world post-deployment, as a nation, we still have a long ways to go.  We’re still figuring out more everyday about PTSD and how to best treat it.  We’ve had a lot of success and we’re still fighting.  There’s still a lot of stigma surrounding both Veterans, PTSD, and mental health in general.  If we can raise awareness, offer compassion to those who are afflicted, and educate ourselves and each other about mental illness, then we’re going to keep moving forward.  Here’s a few more facts about  Veterans suicide:

-As reported in the Mercury News, a recent survey conducted by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America (IAVA), 37% of it’s membership knew of at least one post-9/11 veteran who had attempted suicide.

-31% of IAVA members surveyed indicated that they had considered taking their own life.

-As of Dec. 2012, over 6,500 KIA in OEF/ OIF.  At the current rate of 20 Veterans committing suicide per day, that equals over 7,300 per year.

We think it’s tragic for people to suffer from mental illness and disconnectedness from the community.  We’re here to support by providing quality care that people can count on.  We know it’s not always easy to go to the doctor’s office and we hold ourselves accountable to high standards for taking good care of people and for treating all of our clients with dignity and respect.  That’s our bread and butter and that’s the PTI difference.

September is “Suicide Prevention Month” and we want to focus on that in particular in our upcoming articles.  If you or a loved one needs help, know that we’re ready and standing by.  We’re ready to be your advocate and champion the cause of you leading the rest of this year, and many years to come, at your optimal state of health.

The Veterans Crisis Line is 800-273-8255, then press 1. Help via text is available at 838-255 and veterans can chat live with the VeteransCrisisLine.