During its meeting on Monday, September 15, the Polk County Board of Commissioners declared that September be recognized as Military Suicide Awareness Month as a way to bring attention to a growing national issue.

The office of Veteran Affairs estimates that 17.6 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.

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.

Military personnel are encouraged to seek help to restore balance in their lives, as well as the lives of their families by engaging in stress relief activities, maintaining a buddy system of support so that no soldier stands alone, remembering the importance of self-care by engaging in activities that improve state of mind, asking for help from a professional, being aware that help is available through a variety of sources, including the Veterans Administration and Suicide Prevention hotlines.

Yellow ribbons 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.