What's The Connection

I would like to volunteer as a surviving widow of veteran suicide to reach out to spouses and family members of vets who have also committed suicide to start compiling data on events leading up to their passing. It's a sensitive subject but for me personally I would like to know that my husband's death could help prevent others from the same fate. As a survivor to another I have to ability to identify and share the unfortunate bond.

I think if we had a collection of facts such as if the vet suffered with mental Illness  or chronic physical pain prior,if they got help with the VA and what their experience was in dealing with them. Did they have peer support, we're their changes in behavior or opinions. There are many questions that can be answered.

If we begin to see a pattern, commonalities we can narrow some things down and focus specifically on certain areas with veterans, especially those at risk.

I want facts from people not from PR reps with the VA or DOD. I'm committed to helping the vets and their families not the most cost effective way but the way that's going to keep the alive and healthy. I want real answers. I know something is missing in the data put out there.

No one ever asked me any of these questions and let's face it, we might actually get more honest input from the family than the vet.the Vets have so much pride, so much honor that they sometimes can't or won't share what's really going on. A wife knows. I knew even if he didn't admit it.

I think it could really do a lot of good. I am willing to survey as many as I can through the various groups I belong to and even just calling and explaining my reason. If someone told me my husband's death could help prevent others from the beginning I would have felt a lot less abandoned. We can't change what's happened to our loved ones but by combining the information about them we might save many more. It's all we can ask for really. They deaths weren't for nothing.

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