Posted by Kevin Jacobsen
One in eight veterans returning from war suffers post traumatic stress disorder. Grim statistics show a significant percentage of those men and women end up with severe emotional distress and more often than you might think end up killing themselves.
Each statistic has a face a family and loves ones left behind.
With that in mind there is a desperate effort underway to intervene before it's too late. In some cases that effort starts with families willing to share their tragic stories of hope.
Nestled in the quiet woods north of McGregor is an opportunity to talk openly about the loss of close loved ones.
"He was a gift to our world. A very caring person,” said Mary Lindberg, whose son committed suicide.
Lindberg lost her son, Sergeant Benjamin Miller to suicide in 2008.
Out of that tragedy two life missions have emerged.
"Number one, that Ben is never forgotten," Lindberg said. "The second thing is I want to do anything I can to prevent any other soldier from suffering the fate Ben suffered."
Lindberg's message of hope was shared by several other families of Veterans recently at Project New Hope, a military family retreat. The first of-its-kind weekend long getaway gave families the opportunity to share their painful experiences with each other.
Marilyn Eichler lost her older brother to suicide nearly 40 years after he returned from Vietnam. This was the first time she was able to open up about the death.
"Never before have I been able to discuss this and this weekend I was able to do that,” Eichler said.
"I really believe we've impacted some lives, we've helped," said Bruce Billington, Project New Hope’s founder and executive director. "We work to provide them with the education, training, and skills necessary after war times service."
Now in its third year, Minnesota-based Project New Hope is expanding into several other states including Wisconsin and New York. The goal is to have the program available in all 50 states, giving returning war heroes and their families a place to turn."
"This is a lovely example of what needs to be done,” said Lindberg.
Jeff Hall with the US Department of Veteran Affairs says retreats like project new hope provide the right Psychological tools for support.
"If you've got a car in the garage and you've got three tools to work with, it's awful hard to work with. If you've got a bunch of tools it's easier, Hall said.
Tools Mary Lindberg will now put to use helping others in her shoes.
"If I can prevent this from happening to any other person, any other family, and I can prevent one soldier from feeling the hopelessness that my son must have felt, then I have accomplished something amazing,” said Lindberg.
It’s a battle that can't be won for Lindberg, but for others, it's not too late.
Project New Hope is funded through the Lions Club.
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