by: Kerry Lippold Jr.
On Tuesday, Nov.12, Parkland College Student Life hosted Nicole Gorman and Alwin Abraham to present students with information about how suicide and homelessness impact veterans. The presented also provided information on what resources are available to help those in need. This dine and discuss, an informal opportunity to bring about student awareness and provide food, was not only designed for the student veterans of Parkland but all students.
The main goal of the event was to bring awareness to the “Issues Impacting Veterans” and to emphasize ways to help a veteran with programs available from Veterans Affairs, or the VA.
Nicole Gorman, from the US Veterans Affairs Department in Danville, took the floor first to speak about suicide and how anyone can help prevent this ongoing epidemic among veteran population.
Gorman works in external outreach for the community, making sure veterans know the services available to them including a veteran’s crisis hotline and mental health services. Despite the efforts of Veterans Affairs and people like Nicole Gorman to create and share suicide prevention programs, the number of veterans with suicidal thoughts and attempts is still staggering.
Gorman told the Prospectus that, “About forty-five people die of suicide each year. An estimated one million people make a suicide attempt and ten million people have thoughts of suicide each year. We also believe this data to be underreported.”
This makes suicide the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and numbers really put the impact of suicide in perspective; veterans make up a large portion of this group. “When it comes to veteran suicide, about 18% of all deaths by suicide among U.S. adults were veterans, yet veterans account for only 8.5% of the U.S. population,” Gorman said.
She also pointed out that veterans being trained with firearms and having knowledge of their lethality were more likely to use them as means of attempting suicide. This increases the likelihood of a veteran dying by a suicide attempt since nearly 90% of suicide attempts by firearm end in death, according to Gorman.
Alwin Abraham, a licensed clinical social worker who serves as a grant program manager with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Danville and the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program, spoke next about homelessness in the veteran community and what Veterans Affairs programs there are to help servicemen and servicewomen.
“Suicide is everyone’s business. You don’t have to be a mental health professional or have all the answers to save a life”
Bringing awareness to the issue, preventing homelessness, connecting veterans to mental health aid and establishing permanent housing for homeless veterans are the main purposes of HCHV. This program works around barriers veterans in need face in obtaining subsidized housing. This allows veterans to have shelter and save money in preparation for the future. Essential needs including utilities, rent and things of that nature are funded by Veterans Affairs so veterans can focus on creating an independent way of life.
As Nicole Gorman mentioned during the meeting, suicide is everyone’s business. You don’t have to be a mental health professional or have all the answers to save a life. By simply calling, texting or having a quick chat with a veteran, you could potentially save a life.
Veterans Affairs has a plethora of programs and forms of aid. If you are a veteran or know of a veteran in need, feel free to reach out or refer them to the Veteran Crisis Hotline which is a 24/7 service for veterans to connect with mental health professionals by call, text or online chat. The number is 1-800-273-8255.
There is also a streamline process to access homeless services by contacting the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans. These services can be found here and if you have additional questions, please contact Nicole Gorman and Alwin Abraham directly at nicole.gorman@va.gov and in.abraham@va.gov respectively.
