Monday was Veterans Day, an important event in the Times News area.

We do a great job of honoring veterans with services and parades.

Some organizations take a needed extra step to recognize that many struggle with their mental health.

According to the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, there were 6,392 veteran suicide deaths in 2021, and it was the second leading cause of death among veterans under age 45 years old.

In 2022, Carbon County had the highest number of veteran suicides in Pennsylvania.

The Jason Foundation, dedicated to the prevention of suicide through educational awareness programs, released statistics about veterans.

The firearm suicide rate among veteran women was 281% higher than non-veteran women, and the firearm suicide rate among veteran men was 62% higher than for non-veteran men in 2021.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found a variety of factors that may increase the risk of suicide. Some of these are: substance abuse, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, insomnia, higher doses of opioid medications for pain control, and acute psychosocial stressors.

Veterans who misuse drugs and alcohol are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than other veterans.

Beth Taylor, one of the organizers of the Be The One event held in September at the American Legion Post in Gilbert, said, “I have seen too much and already lost too many to war and suicide.”

It doesn’t have to happen that way.

St. Luke’s Penn Foundation’s Victory for Veterans, a grant-funded program aimed at reducing veteran suicide, shares the success story of Daniel Smith.

In 2023, Smith was arrested for his seventh DUI, the fourth within one year.

Through the program, Smith has turned his life around.

St. Luke’s Penn Foundation’s Victory for Veterans provides peer support to veterans in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, especially those at risk of committing suicide.

Smith, 56, served in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1988. Due to federal budget cuts, he was discharged honorably early. When he returned home, he started using cocaine and drinking heavily. He progressed to methamphetamine before getting help.

Some options for help are:

• The Department of Veterans Affairs mental health resources. Visit www.vetcenter.va.gov or call the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1.

• Every Wednesday, area veterans can make appointments for in-person counseling at the Veterans Hub of Northeastern PA, which is located on St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Lehighton Campus. Call the Scranton Vet Center at 570-344-2676 for more information.

• Local county veterans affairs offices offer assistance in many ways.

In Carbon County, contact 570-325-3986; Lehigh, 610-782-3295; Monroe, 570-517-3187; Northampton County, 610-829-4875; and Schuylkill County, 570-628-5374.

• VALOR Clinic Foundation provides assistance accessing benefits and shelter to veterans with limited or no access to care. The foundation helps find shelter for veterans and provides post-traumatic stress disorder resources to veterans through the Veterans Unstoppable program. Call 570-664-6468 or Email info@valorclinic.org.

• The American Legion offers assistance through the BeTheOne.org.

• The Jason Foundation is another valuable resource. Visit www.jasonfoundation.com.

Everett Shaver, U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, retired, post commander of the American Legion, detailed the mission of the Be The One initiative to destigmatize mental illness.

Shaver said, “If we all save one, collectively. We will save thousands.”

He said people need to be aware of the signs that a veteran is in distress and follow up to connect the veteran with needed resources.

Shaver said every person can be the one — the one who will help a veteran connect with services.

MARTA GOUGER | mgouger@tnonlne.com