Hamilton County initiative aims to prevent veteran suicide • Current Publishing
In 2022, the Hamilton County Health Department reported that the number of veteran suicides had increased 28 percent from the previous year.
After learning about the increase, A Healthier Hamilton County: Systems of Care, a network of those who live in and serve the community, decided to act and created Stronger Veterans, Stronger Communities, a coalition that works to prevent suicide among service members, veterans and their families and caregivers in Hamilton County.
“It was decided that we wanted to put a coalition together in the county to help prevent not only veteran suicide, but also service members and the families,” said Kristen Ludeker-Seibert, director of coordination for A Healthier Hamilton County: Systems of Care.
Anyone is welcome to join the coalition and its mission to prevent suicide. Its members are from a variety of backgrounds, including other veteran-serving organizations, non-profits, local government and other entities throughout the county, including volunteers, veterans and service members.
A major way the coalition is reaching veteran populations and working to reduce veteran suicide is through the Governor’s Challenge through a partnership between A Healthier Hamilton County and with the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Governor’s Challenge has three pillars.
“The first is identification,” Ludeker-Siebert said. “We want to identify the service members, veterans and then families within our county, and that will then naturally move over into connection, which is pillar two. The second thing we want to do is connect those folks to resources, benefits, programs, those types of things, so that they feel connected to one another, their families, themselves, wherever they need to find connection.”
The third pillar is promoting safety for those considering suicide.
“That pillar is working on how we can give to the community when it comes to keeping people safe who are in a suicidal crisis,” Ludeker-Seibert said. “How can we help out there?”
As Stronger Veterans, Stronger Communities reaches out to neighborhoods, it uses a QR code that asks residents if they or a family member have served, which will then direct them to resources based on other questions. The coalition also presents booths at various events around the county to raise awareness for its cause and connect veterans and their families with resources to help prevent suicide.
“We want to continue to build upon the availability of resources for service members, veterans and their families,” Ludeker-Seibert said. “We know that in Hamilton County, we are a very resource-rich county. We just struggle in getting that information out to everyone. We want to be able to reach those service members, veterans, etc. who may not be actively involved in the VFW or the American Legion, but we want to let them know that these other things are out there.”
Learn more at hamiltoncountyphhc.org/stronger-veterans-stronger-communities.
