22 Veterans commit suicide daily

Suicide is something all too familiar for our military veterans with reports from the Department of Veteran Affairs that 22 veterans commit suicide per day. However one Delaware group, Operation Yellow Spear, is trying to help curb that number by spreading awareness and offering coping strategies for dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pvt. Richard Pope knows first-hand how PTSD can affect not only veterans, but also their family members. Pope said his father, a marine, dealt with it as Pope was growing up.

The point of Operation Yellow Spear, Pope said, is to help address the Veteran suicide epidemic through art, love and grace.

“I saw what art can do. My father at one point was in-patient at a facility for his PTSD and loved wood working to the point that wood working, and you know, just using his hands, it helped him, it helped him cope,” Pope said.

Saturday the group held a Veteran Suicide Awareness Rally at Laurel Wesleyan Church in Laurel, Del. The awareness is vital, because many veterans and their family members are unsure on how to address the topic of PTSD.

“We’re trained that way, we’re trained to be strong, be the tough guy, never let your guard down and that’s the problem that we have, and it’s soldiers, it’s sailors, it’s all of us,” said retired 1st Sgt. Allen Mansfield, who served in the National Guard.

The group said that veterans can do things such as joining a community group, finding a hobby and just talking to others in general about their experiences to help them cope. If need be, the group will even act as vehicle to get veterans that help.

“Let’s bring the veteran to where they need to go, let’s help them get there and let’s make 22 (suicides per day) to zero,” Pope said.

Pope said that there is no long term goal for the group, other than to spread awareness about the epidemic and to get more veterans help.

For more information, you can head to the group’s Facebook page.