Hamilton County — A push is underway to raise awareness about veteran suicide and encourage people to come together to stop it.
“We want to promote safety to those who are in a suicide crisis,” Kristen Ludeker-Seibert, director of coordination for Healthier Hamilton County Systems of Care, said.
That's the goal of the Governor's Challenge, a national challenge that extends to mayors across the country to implement measures to reduce veteran suicide.
Now, a Hamilton County non-profit is joining in that fight.
“We want to connect that audience to the resources they need, no matter the level of need they have,” Ludeker-Seibert told WRTV.
A group of veterans and their families started Stronger Veterans Stronger Communities Coalition with a goal of putting resources in the hands of vets.
For Ludeker-Seibert, the mission hits close to home. She says her father was in the U.S. Navy.
“It was very interesting to look back on my life and say, 'That wasn’t normal, it was my dad’s PTSD,'” Ludeker-Seibert added.
In a county home to more than 13,000 vets, the organization say it's an important thing to do.
“We can only serve our community if we know what our community needs," Ludeker-Seibert said.
The organization is hosting a resource fair for vets in July, but say they hope more vets will seek assistance from the VA even if they don't think they need it.
