September is Suicide Prevention Month—a time to raise awareness, start conversations, check on the people around us, and remind those who may be struggling of one incredibly important truth: you are never alone.
For the veteran and military community, that message carries particular weight. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 6,407 veterans died by suicide in 2022, an average of 17.6 veterans every day. The suicide rate among veterans that year was significantly higher than among non-veteran U.S. adults. Behind every one of those numbers is a person, a family, friends and a community forever changed by their loss.
One of the most difficult realities about mental health is that we can’t always see when someone is struggling. A person can show up to work, make jokes, take care of their children, spend time with friends and appear completely fine while carrying a burden no one else can see. That is why suicide prevention cannot begin only when someone reaches a crisis point. It starts much earlier, with connection, belonging, support and knowing there is somewhere to turn when life becomes too heavy.
At the VFW National Home, we have seen firsthand the difference that kind of support can make. Throughout our more than 101 years of operation, the VFW National Home has had zero known veteran suicides among veterans who have gone through our residential program. It is a statistic we are incredibly proud of, but what matters most to us is what stands behind that number: a community built around the belief that no one should have to go through life’s toughest seasons alone.
Here, support can look different for every person. It can be a case manager helping someone work through a challenge that once felt overwhelming. It can be connecting a veteran with mental health resources or helping a family regain financial stability. Sometimes, it is simply having people around who notice when you’re having a difficult day, who listen without judgment and who remind you that asking for help is not a weakness.
Mental health is an important part of the work we do because stability means so much more than having a roof overhead. Veterans and families who come to the National Home may be carrying financial stress, relationship challenges, the transition from military to civilian life, trauma, uncertainty about the future or simply the exhaustion that comes from trying to hold everything together for too long. Our goal is to give families the space and support to put down some of those burdens, take a breath and begin building a strong foundation for what comes next.
The VFW National Home is a place where veterans and families build new beginnings. Through individualized support, case management, access to resources and a community that surrounds each family, we help people identify where they want to go and begin taking the steps to get there. We offer hope that goals that once seemed unattainable can become possible again—a stable career, financial independence, an education, a stronger family, a home of their own or simply the ability to look toward the future with hope.
Sometimes, having someone beside you who says, “You don’t have to figure this out alone,” can make more of a difference than we will ever know.
That is also why Suicide Prevention Month isn’t only a message for those who are struggling. It is a call to all of us to pay attention to the people around us. Don’t assume someone is okay simply because they look okay. Send the text. Make the phone call. Ask the question. Sit down and really listen. If someone says they’re fine but something doesn’t feel right, check again. We may never fully understand the battles another person is fighting, but we can make sure they don’t have to fight them in isolation.
And if you are the person struggling right now, please reach out. You do not have to wait until things become unbearable. You don’t need to have the right words or have everything figured out before asking for help. Taking that first step can simply mean telling someone, “I’m not okay, and I need someone with me.”
Veterans, service members and their loved ones can reach the Veterans Crisis Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 988 and pressing 1 or texting 838255. Support is free and confidential, and veterans do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use the service.
This September, check on your people—and then keep checking on them in October, November and every month after that. Suicide prevention isn’t something we should talk about for only 30 days. It’s something we practice every time we listen, every time we reach out, every time we make room for someone else’s struggle and every time we remind another person that they matter.
Your story isn’t over. There is hope ahead, and you never have to walk toward it alone.
