;IGY6

I recently joined a great group of veterans, on Facebook.  The name of the group is Veteran 2 Veteran Info.  It was started by a young lady named Yvonne Maria Brooks and now has over 315,000 members.  If you are a veteran or know any veterans please encourage them to join this group.

One of the things that I learned about from this group, is about the ;IGY6 movement.  What it stands for is ";I GOT YOU".  This is to show support for our brothers and sisters who have or are considering suicide.  I don't have any tattoos but if I were to ever get one this would be it.  I remember back in the day they used to say individuals were shell-shocked and that's why they act the way they do.  We had a family friend, Nathan Bates, who everyone used to think was crazy after he came home from the Army.  Because we were young and didn't understand what he was going through we didn't recognize the signs of his internal struggle until it was to late, and he had taken his own life.

A couple of years ago I read the story of a young mother who not only took her life, but also the lives of her four (4) young children.  I always wondered if this was a tragedy that could have been avoided if she had been connected to a better support system.  She was under the care of the VA's mental health department but sometimes that's just not enough.  Sometimes all our fellow veterans need is someone to talk to when they need to talk to them.  I'll admit that I believe the VA is doing better, but my question to you is what can you do to help?

I look at the way the AA and NA programs are set up and I wonder why we can't do something like that for our brothers and sisters who are suffering depression and have gotten to the point where they feel like the only thing they can do is to take their own life.  In these programs each participant is assigned a sponsor to reach out to when they feel like taking a drink or doing drugs.  Why can't we build the same type of support group for fellow veterans and become their sponsors?  Why can't we support them in the same way?  Sometimes it may just take a phone call, and then others it may even mean that you would actually have to meet with them, to assist them.  While I know that we cannot take the place of trained professionals, maybe just knowing that you are there for them could be enough.

I am personally willing to be that support.  I live in the Atlanta area and would love to meet with other veterans to form a support group in our area.  I also encourage others to do the same in their own areas.  I believe that if we can be there and save at least one veteran then we are making a difference.  If anyone in the Atlanta area is interested in joining me, my email address is sbaisden94@gmail.com.  I encourage all of you to share your information so that we can start today to hopefully, make a positive difference in the life of our fellow veterans.

Tomorrow we will focus on State and Local veterans benefits, or whatever is laid on my heart to write about.

TTYL - Be blessed.