VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — More than 120,000 veterans have died by suicide since 2001 according to a non-profit organization called Stop Soldier Suicide. It also says veterans and service members are more than 57% more likely to die by suicide than peers who have not served.
Stop Soldier Suicide has a wellness service called ROGER which is confidential care delivered via telehealth to veterans and active duty members. The non-profit fundraises, and through sponsorships from companies as well as individuals, they can provide this service at no cost.
“Sometimes a situation may cause a heightened awareness and some of those signs of PTS whether it’s vigilance, isolation, aggression response, and we work with our clients to identify those and come up with plans to mitigate those stresses,” explained Michael DeSelm, Senior Manager of Corporate Partnerships with Stop Soldier Suicide.
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In Virginia Beach, veteran Michael Martinez says he donates 50% of profits from his company to the mission.
Martinez started Haluan Coffee and Tea Company. He says that while in Afghanistan, the morning ritual which included coffee, was something that helped him through tough times. In fact, friends started sending him unique varieties of coffee, and that’s when he says he really started developing a passion for the drink.
“The villagers would bring us pomegranates, and I would drink my coffee, have my little Jetboil, and I would sit up there in the snow and drink my coffee and eat my pomegranate every morning,” Martinez described.
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Those were the quiet moments.
That deployment, he says, was an especially difficult one.
“We had a lot of heartbreaking moments on that deployment. We lost a lot of good people,” he said. “My commanding officer committed suicide down range while we were in Afghanistan. You know, it’s not something that affects just lower enlisted. A lot of people think it’s ‘the new guys can’t cut it.’ It’s something that penetrates every rank in the military.”
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For more information on Stop Soldier Suicide, click here.
To help with the mission and purchase coffee or tea, click this link.
November 17 is Military Appreciation Night at the Norfolk Admirals hockey game, and Haluan has partnered with the Admirals to have $5 from all tickets purchased through this link to go to Stop Soldier Suicide.
