Fighting Veteran and Caregiver Suicide

When someone asks me about the relationship between veteran suicide prevention and caregiving, I share a comment made by one of our first Elizabeth Dole Foundation Caregiver Fellows that has always stuck with me. This fellow cares for her grown son who suffers severe emotional wounds from his time in combat. She told me that every morning, from the moment she wakes up, she feels an incredible sense of dread until she can summon the courage to open her son’s bedroom door and confirm that he did not lose his life to suicide in the middle of the night. ?

At the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, we often talk about caregiving being a 24-hour a day role. Rarely is that more true than for caregivers who look after someone experiencing suicidal thoughts. These family caregivers ensure weapons are safely stored, medications are closely monitored, and signs of depression and suicidal ideation are identified and addressed before it’s too late. Some caregivers go to great lengths to anticipate every way their veterans could harm themselves or die by suicide. Undoubtedly, caregivers are saving an untold number of lives, but the stress of the responsibility often overtakes their own emotional well-being.

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Earlier this year, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation joined Face the Fight, a new veterans’ suicide prevention initiative led by USAA , Reach Resilience , and Humana Foundation . The initiative is bringing the resources and creativity of the private and nonprofit sectors to the fight against suicide within the military community. USAA brought the Foundation on board to manage and grow a coalition around the effort, which now stands at more than 80 partners.?

Ultimately, our participation in Face the Fight has two goals. First, we want to alleviate one of the most pressing and strenuous worries from the hearts and minds of America’s caregivers by fully supporting the initiative’s mission to substantially reduce the veteran suicide rates by 2030. While much of our Foundation’s attention is devoted to resources that directly serve caregivers, sometimes we can make an even bigger difference by reducing their veterans’ reliance on their care.???

Our second goal is to directly engage caregivers in suicide prevention, not only as a resource for helping reduce veteran suicide, but as members of the military community who are also at-risk. Caregivers experience emotional distress and isolation at alarming rates, as well as family strain, financial insecurity, and other factors often correlated with suicide. These factors are then compounded by the reality that caregivers do not prioritize their health, they face wide gaps in mental health resources, and they hesitate to seek help because they know they are the emotional rocks of their families.??

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The hopeful news is that we know where caregivers are most vulnerable, so we can provide resources that strengthen their mental health while preparing them to support their veterans’ health, too. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Hope Fund for Critical Financial Assistance is bringing relief to our most financially insecure families, and our Hidden Heroes Caregiver Community and Mental Wellness Framework is reducing caregiver isolation and creating space for caregivers to receive support. Face the Fight will be a game-changer in developing and introducing new evidence-based suicide prevention strategies. And our partners delivering access to mental healthcare, providing respite relief, offering marriage counseling, and producing other forms of direct support are all contributing to the solution. If you represent an organization that can lend expertise, services, or a financial contribution, learn how you can join the Coalition at WeFaceTheFight.org .?

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Please join me in marking the observance by taking an action toward ending suicide among veterans and their caregivers.?Whether it's posting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or reaching out to a veteran or a caregiver to do a “buddy check” and?ask how they are doing, when lives are on the line, no action is too small. ?

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