Brian Mast: “I guess I found in my time that suicide is an epidemic of purpose, and worth, and value. I come to this line of thought…”

“I guess I found in my time that suicide is an epidemic of purpose, and worth, and value. I come to this line of thought because I have had countless veterans call me; reach out to my office; find me on Facebook; find me on some other form of social media; had a member of their family call my office or reach out, a mother, or a spouse, and talk about the fact that their veteran wants to take their life. And in seeing that play out time and time again, I realize each and every time that somebody is out there searching for their value in their life. They are searching for where is their value? Where is their worth to the rest of the world? And for me, that helps me to recognize that this can be prevented. I think veterans face this challenge in a unique way and in an elevated way, not because the challenge of war or recovering from injury is something that cannot be overcome. I think most of us end up finding in our lives that when we have overcome something incredibly difficult, those are the most memorable and purposeful moments of our life. No person, veteran included, should have to believe that their greatest contribution to the world, or to their Nation, or to their family, or their community is something that is behind them.…”