The Fire Watch is Northeast Florida’s fight to end veteran suicide. They are uniting War Fighters and allies to swiftly activate local assets, stand watch, and build a life-saving network. They call it their ‘Watch Stander’ program. To date, no city, county, or state has systemically reduced its veteran suicide rate. This effort is the first of its kind in the country.
Veteran suicide is a growing crisis. At least 20 U.S. veterans are taking their lives every day. To date, solutions to prevent suicide have been inadequate at best. In particular, federal solutions have had little to no effect on the crisis on the ground here in Northeast Florida. Given that Northeast Florida is home to over 150,000 veterans, the need and the challenge are evident.
The Fire Watch combats veteran suicide in two ways. First, they coordinate local resources with many veteran service partners to assist veterans in crisis. Second, they are mobilizing a network of 10,000+ community Watch Standers to learn to identify the risk signs of veterans in crisis and to direct those veterans to the help and resources they need. Everyone has a role to play - veteran or civilian. Their goal is to ensure their War Fighters never slip into crisis at all.
Visit: https://www.thefirewatch.org for more info