Harrison County pays respect to veterans lost to suicide for Veteran Suicide Prevention Month

“You know, just let everybody know you’re not alone. We are not alone, though the demons in the head tell you’re all alone, and they’re almost down the crap out here, you know, but you just got to maintain, and you feel that feeling coming on call someone.”

Each year, nearly 6,000 veterans lose their life to suicide and local officials and the community have come together to support veterans and stop the endless tragedy.

With September being National Suicide Prevention Month, Junior ROTC students from Biloxi and Bay High stood guard around a flag-draped coffin with 22 boots at its feet, symbolic of the average veteran lost each day from suicide.

Visitors and officials paid their respects to former soldiers as they look to curve the statistic of suicide amongst the demographic. “So it’s Harrison County’s hope and desire that we bring attention to the crisis of veteran suicide. We want to end veteran suicide and needless deaths. No one needs to be burying their family. There’s no cause for a needless death. So, coming out here and partaking is just a way of we’re physically partaking and remembering them.”

“A veteran who might be watching and who is contemplating suicide and might see this realizes that they’re not alone, and that there is help. And being in South Mississippi, right here in our own backyard, the VA Healthcare System is here.”

“If anyone shares with us the thoughts, which is the hardest thing, because a lot of people with PTSD that it hits them. There’s no prediction when it’s going to come it’s no medical way of today’s gonna be a bad day. It can just come on, and that spontaneous darkness that hits you is what leads them towards the suicide. So we tried, with our organization to talk with them, give them somebody to listen to. They want to go to another veteran who’s been in battle, or they want to go to another veteran who suffered the same thing or suffered the same losses. You know, we associate right, and recognize.”

If you or someone, you may know, is a veteran that may be contemplating suicide, Dial the veteran suicide crisis line at 988 and press 1 for assistance. You can click here for more resources.