HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A relatively new coalition is working to support Veterans here in Arkansas.
In the S.E.R.V.E coalition, state agencies, individuals in health care, and even charity groups make up the collaboration that is dedicated to supporting Veterans before it's too late.
The acronym S.E.R.V.E stands for suicide education and resource for Veteran’s empowerment.
The group meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at the Garland County Library, and their goal is to educate the public about Veteran suicide as well as to discuss how to empower people who are struggling.
"We want to come in and do more, talk to the community leaders, do more training, and raise awareness for mental health counselors or first responders, " said Walter Zgleszewski, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist.
He explained how the S.E.R.V.E coalition came together to raise awareness of Veteran suicide.
“One suicide is too many,” Zgleszewski said. “So, speaking to people, a lot of us may do other things like business expos or job fairs. We started bringing the conversation up about suicide awareness.”
In raising awareness, comes heavy truths.
“The suicide rate is higher among Veterans than the general population,” explained Miranda Watkins with Veterans Affairs.
According to Zgleszewski, from 2020 to 2021 there was a significant rise in Veteran suicide.
“Nationally we thought it was going down,” Zgleszewski said. “One of the programs here today was WeWereThe22, their name derived from 22 veterans committing suicide daily-- well that number went up.”
There's no one specific cause for the increase, which is a topic the coalition continues to discuss. With every veteran's situation being different, support and resources are more important.
“The community doesn’t know many of the resources, so that's what we're trying to do now is provide resources and communication,” Zgleszewski described.
For him, being a part of S.E.R.V.E means working to save a life.
“I don't want to see any Veteran or spouse of a Veteran have thoughts of that,” Zgleszewski said. “Whatever your situation may be, let's try to figure out what's going on.”
The S.E.R.V.E coalition urges Veterans who are struggling to call the 988 hotline.