Making It Matter


Making it Matter

Dear Friends,

September is Suicide Prevention month. Did you know that twenty veterans take their life each day? Right now, somewhere there is a veteran – or perhaps several – who are contemplating suicide. In the next week, more than 140 Veterans will die by their own hands. The veteran suicide rate is 22% higher than that of non-Veterans, according to the Veterans Administration. Statistics also tell us that out of this 140:

  • 98 will have neither sought nor received treatment from the VA.
  • 91 will be over the age of 50.
  • 1 will be a woman — and while that may seem small, female veterans take their own life at a rate 240% higher than their civilian counterparts.
  • 1 will be a Mainer.

    • Please know that if you or a veteran you know is in crisis, you should immediately call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.  Trust your gut: if you believe that something is or could be wrong, make the call.

    Even though Easterseals is not a suicide prevention agency, since our inception, our care coordinators have intervened in 113 instances where a veteran was determined to be at high risk of suicide. The tragedy of suicide is not just the loss of life – it is also the loss of potential. It is the loss of what these veterans could have brought to our community and each day we strive to ensure the resources are in place to save number 114.

    Even in a veteran-friendly state like Maine, veterans in our community still face issues like homelessness, unemployment and mental illness at rates much higher than their civilian peers. General Martin Dempsey has said that our service members “Do what they do because they sense that they should give something back because of the opportunities that they enjoy in this country.” In my observation, this same commitment to excellence and dedication to mission continues when our service members return home as veterans. It is when our veterans lose sight of their purpose where things go awry – and that’s where Easterseals steps in. Our veterans and their families have given so much, it is up to us as Americans to ensure their sacrifices matter by investing in their future.

    The issues facing our veterans are increasingly complex, but at Easterseals, we believe that together we can work to build a society in which all  veterans are included and valued for who they are, for what they have given, and, most importantly, what they have left to give.

    Please visit www.vetscount.org/maine to learn how you can help us provide critical support to veterans through  our life-saving programs.

    Joe Reagan

    Senior Director of Development

    Easterseals Maine