Through neighborhood connections and a steadfast belief that the crisis affecting American veterans is preventable, a nonprofit organization located in Florida is addressing veteran suicide.
The three tenets of the Fire Watch are that communities must actively participate in prevention, that suicide is preventable, and that prompt access to support can save lives.
“It takes the community to get involved in suicide prevention,” Executive Director Nick Howland stated.
Following remarkable outcomes, The Fire Watch aims to expand its regional organization across the country using a treatment-focused strategy and local involvement to address veteran suicide in a novel way.
The “Watch Stander” curriculum, which is based on CPR training, is the cornerstone of The Fire Watch’s approach.
Volunteers learn how to identify warning indicators, ask direct questions, validate the veterans’ experience, and accelerate referral to services—all of which are summed up by the acronym SAVE—in a brief 30- to 45-minute session.
“Like CPR doesn’t train you to be a paramedic, our training doesn’t turn you into a clinician,” Howland stated. “It trains you to notice the change and sound the alarm for help.”
Every Watch Stander departs with a wallet card, wristband, and sticker that serves as a reminder of important warning signs, such as signs of substance misuse, self-harm, risky behavior, or giving away belongings, as well as the easy ways to obtain help.
The nonprofit links veterans to counseling services and collaborates with the state’s veteran affairs offices.
The Fire Watch has documented dramatic declines in veteran suicides since it began in Northeast Florida.
Howland made the bold decision to reduce the number of veteran suicide fatalities by at least 25% for three years in a row after 81 deaths were reported in 2019.
According to the most recent data, which was made public on May 1, the number of veteran suicides in the area decreased to 61 in 2023, which is 25% fewer than the baseline for 2019.
Veteran suicides have decreased by 5% statewide and by 12% in regions where The Fire Watch is active (Northeast Florida, South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Escambia County), while the fall has only been 2% in other parts of the Sunshine State.
Read Also: Florida Boat Explosion Sends 11 to Hospital, 2 Children Among Victims
“Where we’re building our network of community members who care, who get veterans to the help they need, veteran suicidality is decreasing,” he stated. “It’s remarkable.”
The influence of the program is very personal to volunteers like Ryan Haczynski. In late 2022, Haczynski lost a friend who was a Vietnam veteran to suicide. He looked for a means to pay tribute to him and stop more losses.
Just weeks before his death, his friend had even asked him to be the executor of his estate. “I didn’t recognize the signs,” he thought.
Haczynski’s internet research after the veteran’s suicide brought him to Watch Stander and Ambassador trainings, where he has subsequently certified others and even assisted in planning his friend’s honorable military funeral.
Haczynski now makes use of every opportunity to engage with the community to inquire about the well-being of veterans, validate their stories, and direct them to Fire Watch’s free crisis assistance available around-the-clock.
“We want to give back, we want to help, especially people who have done so much [for our country] to go and serve us,” he stated.
