DENVER — A new initiative is helping some Denver-area hospitals get lifesaving equipment into the hands of veterans who are at risk for harming themselves.
Veterans tend to own guns more than the general population. Chuck Frame, a licensed professional counselor with AdventHealth, said that can be concerning because data from the VA shows that of adults who die by suicide, firearms are used far more often by veterans than by non-veterans.
"The number of veteran suicides is increasing dramatically over the last 20 years. In particular female veterans and Hispanic veterans, the suicide rate has gone up considerably," Frame said.
To help curb that concerning trend, AdventHealth is partnering with Face the Fight to help provide gun safes to veterans at risk for harming themselves.
"Both my parents are veterans," Frame said. "I trained at the VA. I did an internship and a two-year fellowship at the VA. My daughter is a clinical social worker at the VA currently in the homeless veteran program. So I have a deep veteran connection."
Now, as clinical supervisor of the crisis assessment team at AdventHealth Porter, Frame sees veterans come through regularly who are at risk for harming or killing themselves, and are in need of help.
"Whenever there's some event that happens overseas, whenever there's a compound attack or loss of military life, it's very triggering," Frame said. "So reducing access to a firearm is critical."
Here's how the program works. Veterans who enter an AdventHealth emergency department and agree to the program will be discharged with a gun safe. Their weapons will go into the safe, and a loved one will get the code to unlock it.
"And that way, until the veteran and the person, his safe person or her safe person, agree they can have access to the safe again, then they don't have easy access to that means of suicide," Frame said. "So if we can prevent that suicide attempt from being a lethal attempt, then we can save a lot of lives that way."
For veterans in crisis, Frame said this can be a critical tool to keep them safe until they're in a better spot with their mental health.
"Veterans, you know, really feel strongly about their belief to keep and retain firearms," Frame said. "And so this allows them to do that safely."
Frame said many of the men and women who served our country are dealing with trauma, PTSD, anxiety and depression. This new initiative is one way they can help veterans who are at risk for harming themselves find a safe path forward.
"I just think that these people served our country, and we need to be of service to them," he said.
AdventHealth, the Denver Research Institute and the VA are piloting this new program with Face the Fight. AdventHealth will have the gun safes at the AdventHealth Avista, Castle Rock, Littleton, Parker and Porter emergency departments for patients in need who do not need to be admitted for inpatient psychiatric services.
If you're a veteran in need of immediate care, you can call Colorado Crisis Services anytime at 844-493-8255 or text the word "talk" to 38255. You can also reach the national suicide lifeline at 988.
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