VA S.A.V.E. Training provided during Kansas Post 156’s event this month that also offered up various resources available to veterans, their families.
American Legion Department of Kansas Be the One Ad-Hoc Committee Chairman Doug Hensley doesn’t know a veteran who has died – or thought of dying – by suicide. But suicide has impacted him personally.
That, and a sense of obligation to fellow veterans, is why the commander of American Legion Post 156 in Paola organized an event earlier this month at his post that not only included information on the Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention program, but also offered a training session for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs S.A.V.E program, as well as sharing multiple resources available for mental well-being, health care and veteran benefits.
“For me, I’ve not had an experience with a veteran – whether I served with them or otherwise – that came in crisis, that I am aware of,” Hensley said. “But I did lose my nephew to suicide … so the suicide prevention is in my heart. But I’m one of those veterans that didn’t go into combat. That’s a huge reason why I’m in The American Legion and believe in all of the programs of The American Legion. Especially the missions related to veterans themselves.”
The session took place at Post 156 on Jan. 11 and saw close to three dozen people from across the state attend, despite two snowstorms hitting the area leading up to the session. Hensley promoted the event through social media, print media and by displaying flyers at local businesses.
The primary portion of the event was VA’s S.A.V.E. Training, which focuses on:
S - Signs of suicidal thinking should be recognized.
A - Ask the most important question of all, “Are you thinking of killing yourself?”
V - Validate the veteran’s experience.
E - Encourage treatment and expedite getting help.
Hensley started by reaching out to the Miami County-area VA Suicide Prevention Coordinator to schedule the training. After that, “everything started to fall into line,” he said. That included also lining up presenters for the training from VA’s Whole Health program; VA’s Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator; the Kansas’ Veterans Justice Outreach to assist veterans facing or dealing with legal issues, and the Elizabeth Layton Center, a nonprofit mental health facility. A VA rep also was on hand to sign up veterans into the VA health-care system, as was a Kansas Office of Veterans Services representatives to assist veterans with benefits questions.
“For people coming in to get the training, I figured, ‘OK, use these other (programs) so people are aware of these benefits,” Hensley said. “If they are themselves a veteran or have a family member or someone – a neighbor – if they’ve heard about it, and they or their veteran gets into problems, they’ve got this.’”
Hensley said it’s important to introduce other programs that may assist veterans in crisis, specifically referencing VA’s Whole Health program, where a VA health team works with a veteran to develop a personalized health plan based on the patient’s values, needs and goals. Whether it’s gaming, learning to play an instrument or some other activity, “In my opinion, if it’s something a veteran is interested in … it probably has the same potential (to assist mental health),” Hensley said. “That’s my thought.”
The original plan also was to have Wendy Lakso, who provides Be the One training, participate in the session, but technical issues prevented that from happening. Instead, Hensley gave a presentation on how to participate in virtual Be the One training that is offered monthly (click here to see upcoming sessions).
Veteran suicide prevention in general, and Be the One specifically, are areas of focus for Hensley. “I probably would have done this anyway, even if I wasn’t the chairman of the department Be the One Committee,” he said. “I don’t want to quit serving veterans, because so many veterans went and were in a position that I wasn’t in. I never saw combat, so I want to continue to serve those veterans that did.
“I want to do everything I can to help them. There’s much more potential for them to need help than what I have. So, I want to be there to help them.”
- Be the One