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 AdventH.
