The Polk County Board of Commissioners recently declared that September be recognized as Military Suicide Prevention Month and September 11 as Military Suicide Day as a way to bring attention to a growing national issue.

The office of Veteran Affairs estimates that 17 Veterans commit suicide daily, which is nearly 7,000 suicides per year and 19 percent of all American suicides. Two others, the “America’s Warrior Partnership” and the “Department of Defense,” disagree with this number and have concluded that 24 Veterans take their life a day.

It is also believed that military suicides have reached numbers “four times” higher than that of combat deaths and more female veterans are committing suicide than ever before.

There is a variety of reasons for a high suicide rate among veterans, including frequent deployments, stress of combat and prolonged separation from families. Also, military personnel are reluctant to ask for help when they are depressed and untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide among military personnel.

There are many ways for veterans to take care of themselves, including asking for help, finding a support group, finding customized services for your needs, and making a safety plan. The suicide prevention lifeline website has a section dedicated to assisting veterans. (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/veterans/)

Yellow ribbons have have been placed on light poles near the Polk County Courthouse to bring awareness to this issue.

Locally, Polk County Commissioners joins the Polk County Memorial VFW Post #9116 and the Auxiliary in urging all active and former military personnel and their families to seek help for behavior health issues.

For more information, please contact Polk County’s Veterans Service Office at 828-894-0003.