Face the Fight®, the national initiative that has brought together over 200 like-minded organizations since its launch in 2023 to help reduce veteran suicide, is reinforcing its commitment this Veterans Day and celebrating the incremental progress being made.
“Veterans Day provides us with a reminder to support our veterans, but our acknowledgment, and appreciation extends beyond one day or even one month,” said former congressman and undersecretary of the U.S. Army Patrick Murphy, Face the Fight honorary committee chairman. “Through initiatives like Face the Fight, we’re working to support our veteran community by breaking the stigma around asking for help and fostering real, open conversations around support and hope.”
Face the Fight grants have provided support to 52 projects, to date. Overwatch Project, a recent Face the Fight grant recipient, works with veterans, law enforcement, and other gun owners on collaborative projects to save lives. They are hearing the impact their work is having through program participants.
“I actually have a really close buddy. . . going over this [suicide prevention training] course here this week, it made me reach out to him. I know something has been off with him and I just didn’t know how to approach him because we have a different type of bond,” said a veteran who participated in the program. “We never really spoke on suicide prevention or anything like that. But seeing these scenarios and receiving this type of training out here, it helped me reach out to him this week. . . it was like I got my friend back.”
Other grant recipients, including Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), are also seeing progress through efforts supported by Face the Fight. CVN recently analyzed electronic health record data to identify predictors of clinically elevated suicide risk among their veteran and active duty clients. Among clients seeking mental health treatment, connection and trust with their clinicians was an essential element in creating a safe environment for disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Clients also found safety planning and standardized measures, including suicide screening, to be beneficial.
Face the Fight is also proud to have the George W. Bush Institute and its Veteran Wellness Alliance as an ally in this mission, sharing the belief that invisible wounds are just as real as physical ones. Through Check-In, veterans, service members, their families, caregivers, and survivors get connected with high-quality, no-cost mental and brain health care professionals. For more information or to get connected to care, visit veterancheckin.org.
In addition to the impact from Face the Fight’s philanthropic support, the initiative is continuing to push public awareness of the high rate of veteran suicide and launched a public service announcement with the support of USAA and Lockheed Martin. The public service announcement is currently being shown through FOX and NBCUniversal affiliates with support of generous in-kind donations from the two corporations.
USAA is also providing its first-ever public donation matching opportunity, up to $1 million, through the month of November. Those interested in donating to Face the Fight efforts and receiving a dollar-per-dollar match can visit usaa.com/veteransday.
To learn more about Face the Fight, join the fight or get help, visit wefacethefight.org.