Military Helpline: Lifeline For Veterans

The other side of this Memorial Day holiday is the high number of suicides among our returning veterans each year. The sad truth is, every 80 minutes, a veteran takes their life.

And in Oregon, the suicide rate is even higher than the national average: 27 percent of suicides in the state are by veterans.

The Military Helpllne wants to make sure that statistic doesn’t rise even higher.

It’s a lifeline to troops in Afghanistan as well as vets back here at home.

And in the last two years, the helpline has handled thousands of phone calls.

Two years ago, the Oregon non-profit “Lines for Life” created a military helpline to make sure those coming back from war can return to normalcy.

“They’ve come back from war, they have seen things and done things that is troubling for them,” said Tom Parker, communications director for Lines for Life.

Those issues include anger, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress.

“Post-traumatic stress is treatable, suicide is preventable, and we have a lot of ways to help folks,” Parker said.

The service is available to all vets and was created after a high number of suicides arose in the Oregon National Guard.

“The sad fact is that we lose more veterans in this country every year to suicide than we have lost in the nine years of war in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq in combat combined,” Parker said.

The problem in Oregon is we are one of only seven states in the nation that doesn’t have a central base for soldiers to report to.

“Whether you’re in Prineville, or you’re in La Pine or in Bend or wherever, you don’t feel like you got a connection,” Parker said.

The Military Helpline is there to help fill that gap.

“To save lives, and not only save lives, but help them lead successful lives on their return,” Parker said.

The help line is available over the phone or online in a private anonymous chat. And everyone manning the lines is a veteran or someone trained in military culture.

“(They) understand the issues and can listen to them carefully and help give them the resources they need to get out of this problem,” Parker said.

One example of success is the story of a veteran who had a gun in his hand and was ready to end his life.

“By the end of the conversation, the gun had been unloaded and put away in a safe place, and he agreed to a safety plan,” Parker said.

Of the thousands of calls they get a each year, they say they de-escalate 98 percent of the suicide calls.

“That is a huge number,” Parker said. “That means when those phone calls are over, people have a safety plan, and they are able to figure out ways, especially to seize the ways that life is worth living.”

If you would like to contact the Military Helpline you can call it toll-free at 1-888-457-4838 or visit their online chat at www.militaryhelpline.org.