Veteran suicide relief

I am an Army Veteran that is dedicated to erasing veteran suicide. I’m raising money to support legislation that will retrain transitioning service-members to reintegrate into civilian life and provide training on how to face a new set of challenges before they leave the military.

Each year approximately 200,000 U.S. military service-members transition out of the armed forces to face a new mission; get by in the civilian world.  A world apart from the years spent in service to the USA; being conditioned and trained in specialized skills, going where they need to go and doing what needs to be done in the service of our nation, sacrificing personal freedoms in order to secure the freedoms of their fellow countrymen.

Each day, 17.6 veterans committed suicide, on average, in 2018 according to the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.1 That is 32% of the annual number of service-members who transition back into civilian life each year. Those are just the suicides. There are studies and statistics surrounding other dangerous and unhealthy ways to cope and situations that instigate these coping mechanisms; alcoholism and other substance abuse, divorce, homelessness, incarceration, mental health issues.

The purpose of this Go Fund Me is to finance a bill getting passed through congress that will put a reintegration program into place for all transitioning service-members that will provide skills to veterans so they can navigate the civilian reality and face the changes and challenges presented by leaving the military. With this training program in place, it is the hope that veterans will have the knowledge and training to avoid the pitfalls and rates for suicide, homelessness and other negative outcomes will plummet. 

I call the bill Smith & Weston, partially because it’s a catchy name that brings a certain gun manufacturer to mind, and partially because I blacksmith and my last name is Weston, and this is a cause that I believe in, and will work toward and put my name behind. This is for all who fall after battle.