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.
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“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.