DUBLIN, Ga. — According to stopsolidersuicide.org, veterans have a 57% higher chance of death by suicide than those who haven't served our country.
James Huckfeldt worked as the Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the Dublin V.A. Medical Center and said he's personally dealt with suicide a lot in his life.
He lost three family members to suicide- his stepbrother, his mom, and his brother.
He works with veterans daily, and suicide prevention in that community is something his team continuously works on.
"Suicide prevention is our top clinical priority," he said.
Huckfeldt served in the Army for about nine years and said more mental health recourses are always needed for people post-discharge.
"They gave me five months of training to learn how the Army works. When I got out of the Army, they gave me a week and a half to learn how to be a civilian again," he said.
Things like navigating the job market, finding a community, and finding a higher purpose are things he said many veterans struggle with once they're finished serving.
That's why he was happy to see the V.A. investing $52.5 million into community organizations that offer innovative suicide prevention programs and services.
The V.A. clinics across the state will receive $749,931 of that grant money to go towards more mental health recourses.
"Increased funding would mean more personnel that we can have, more mental health professionals," he said.
Huckfeldt said the V.A. clinic in Dublin already does a lot of prevention work to help keep busy and find community support- which he believes keeps suicides down.
"You're making friends, and when you make friends, you make contact. When you have contacts, then you have things to do. And all of a sudden, you don't have time to think about suicide," he said.