Veterans, supporters march for suicide awareness
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Sat, 05/07/2016 - 12:06pm
Angels' tears fell from heaven Saturday morning as dozens braved cool, wet conditions to participate in the second annual Veterans Suicide Awareness March, an event organized by the Western Nevada College Veterans Resource Center.
The march, a solemn one for those participating as well as anyone who has been affected by suicide, followed a 1.5-mile course from the Bully's parking lot at the corner of North Carson Street and West College Parkway up the hill to the Western Nevada College (WNC) campus.
Participants taking part in Saturday's event sought to raise public awareness of the problem of suicide among military veterans.
United States Army veteran Sarah Goulart was one of several former soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who gathered Saturday. She completed the march with her service dog, a German Shepherd named Chaos.
Goulart, who was discharged from service as a staff sergeant in 2009, is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. She said she trained her own dog to become a service animal for her.
Chaos has been a service dog now for two years, Goulart said.
The march was led by a bagpiper in military and highlander regalia. Participants also carried a banner at the front of the long line of walkers that read "22 is 22 too many."
The number 22 denotes the average number of veteran suicides that occur each day across the country, literature from the WNC Veterans Resource Center (VRC) states. This equates to one suicide every 80 minutes.
"Even one suicide is one too many," WNC VRC Coordinator and Faculty Advisor Kevin Burns had said in an earlier interview with Carson Now.
The Veterans Suicide Awareness March is as much about increasing education as it is raising awareness, VRC literature shows. Learning the warning signs and knowing where to turn for help are both crucial elements of prevention, it said.
In a gesture remembering those veterans who fell victim to suicide in the past year, more than 8,000 American flags were planted Friday on the lawn in front of the WNC campus.
The inaugural Veteran Suicide Awareness Walk last year raised $1,000 through donations and T-shirt sales to help the Northern Nevada Veterans Resource Center.
Saturday's suicide awareness march, sponsored by the Nevada Department of Veterans Services, also sought to continue fundraising efforts to provide for the needs of area veterans.
For more information about the Veterans Resource Center at WNC and how it can help veterans, visit its web site here, or call 775-445-3300.
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