El Paso veterans channel art for suicide awareness in VA poster competition

Veterans in El Paso's VA system participated in a poster competition to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention among servicemembers.

The El Paso VA's suicide prevention department came up with the idea to host a poster competition so that the community could engage with the issue, not only as a patient but as an agent and creator of wellness, said veteran mental health advocate Martine Sanderson.

"Painting is, in many ways, therapeutic," said Sanderson. "People's expression of themselves is really an important part of their life journey and their life's story."

According to Sanderson, the posters from the competition will be hung up in different VA offices, giving El Paso veterans a chance to share their stories with others.

"We wanted the expression to come from the community versus something that was just created by a business somewhere," said Sanderson.

For a population that suffers myriad mental and emotional stressors, Sanderson said that art has been shown to lower levels of anxiety.

"We know that it is a medium that we can use not only to express ourselves but to tell others our story without using necessarily words," said Sanderson.

Veteran Enrique Marquez said he's used art as an outlet since he was a child, and that it "centers" him and allows him to "focus on the joys of life."

It's something that is nothing short of life-saving when he's contending with "survivor's guilt," and thinking about the people he's lost.

"Suicide and suicide prevention is something that weighs heavily on a lot of our hearts and souls," said Marquez. "For veterans that can find something like this, doing artwork like this, it can heal the wounds that you have."

If you or a veteran you know are experiencing trouble, contact the VA Wellness Center in south central El Paso at 915-564-6100.