It's Veterans Day and there are events planned across the bay area Wednesday.
Yet, one local group is hoping you'll look beyond the parades and ceremonies at a much bigger issue impacting our veterans: Mental health.
One Tampa program is saving the lives of our service men and women through a veteran's assistance and suicide hotline.
Folks who run the veteran's hotline hope you'll do more than just thank a veteran today, they're encouraging you to write to our legislators to demand they make mental health a priority for our men and women returning from war.
The veterans support line operating out of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay began last October. Veterans answer the calls of veterans, providing a way for two veterans to connect in the times they need an extra shoulder to lean on.
In its first year, 3,800 veterans reached out for help. The work the folks at the hotline do is crucial. Across the country 22 vets die from suicide every day.
Clara Reynolds, the President of the Crisis Center Of Tampa Bay says they started the hotline after they noticed a huge number of veterans calling in, "We were seeing so many veterans calling us and one of the things a veteran would ask is 'are you a veteran?' They would ask that of the folks that answer the phone and we realized once we told them no we weren't veterans and we didn't have that same level of understanding or experience, we were losing many of those calls."
They're calls that could save our veteran's lives. Now, everyone who answers calls to the veteran's hotline has military experience.
There are more than 30,000 veterans living here in the bay area, so Reynolds says the need here is enormous.
Here's the thing: You can help expand this program. Right now, the veteran's line is a pilot program.
The Florida legislature is funneling money into the crisis center to make it happen. There is a bill proposed right now to expand this program statewide and you can write your legislator and tell them to make it a priority.
Kelli Deaton and Jamie McPherson answer calls at the suicide prevention hotline. They tell 10 News they've been able to save countless lives, "The veterans who call cannot talk to family, friends and cannot talk to anybody else because nobody else understands," Deaton explained. "We're handing them the car keys, giving them the power, empowering them to help themselves," McPherson added.
The crisis center says veterans are often the very last people to ask for help because they often see themselves as self-sufficient and the ones that solve the problems, so by the time they reach out, that call could be their lifeline.
The crisis center says veterans are often the very last people to ask for help because they often see themselves as self-sufficient and the ones that solve the problems, so by the time they reach out, that call could be their lifeline.
Veterans can connect with the hotline by calling 1-844-MYFLVETS
Source http://www.wtsp.com/
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