If you’re a former service member, or are concerned for someone who is, free, confidential support for veterans in crisis and their families and friends is available anytime at Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 or visit their live chat here.

For other useful resources on prevention, or to speak to a VA coach, click here.

 

According to a recently published study by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), the risk of a veteran committing suicide may increase if there have been suicide attempts in their unit in the past year.

Data collected from the U.S. Army’s STARRS project revealed that a unit that experienced at least one suicide attempt in the past year saw risk for other soldiers in the same unit go up 18.2%.

Additionally, the risk for suicide doubles if there are five or more attempts in the unit within the past year.

In a report by CNN, experts believe that the military should put an emphasis on postvention support after veteran suicide attempts in order to avoid cluster suicide trends.

Postvention is an organized effort to provide aid to service members after a suicide attempt occurs in their unit, rather than waiting until they already show signs of suicidal thoughts or depression.

There are various resources that veterans and their families can reach out to if they have experienced loss in this capacity within their unit.

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: TAPS is an organization for survivors helping other surivors heal, and offers resources to veterans with trauma, depression, and PTSD.

Family PTSD Resources: This page gives important information to families about how to identify warning signs and how to support their loved one who is a veteran with PTSD.

Stop Soldier Suicide: SSS is an organization that provides help to veterans, and offers aid to their family members.