Michigan Veterans Harm Reduction Summit fights veteran suicide
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Suicide among veterans is a huge concern, and vets gathered in Eaton Rapids Tuesday to address the problem.
The Grunt Style Foundation hosted the Michigan Veterans Harm Reduction Summit in Eaton Rapids, exploring the relationship between prescription drugs and veteran suicide. Tim Jensen, the president of the Grunt Style Foundation, said the medication he was put on after serving made him feel like a zombie and led to a downhill spiral.
Joshua Parish is the Co-founder of VETLIFE, a charity organization aimed at helping veterans live a "safer, healthier, and prosperous civilian lifestyle." He is a veteran who suffered to the point of nearly dying by suicide while on prescribed medications after his time in the service, and says the transition from military to civilian life can be tough.
"In the military, they teach you to rub dirt on it, uh drive on, don't ask for help... but then when you're out of the military and you go back to civilian life, they want you to ask for help, so when you ask for that help, and if you don't get that help, you just kind of stop asking" Parish said.
According to Parish, veterans must lean on each other to defeat these issues.
"I hear veterans all the time say, 'I got out of the military 10 years ago, and I never even tried to find other veterans in the community', and then when they come to our events, they leave with smiling faces, and then they've connected with other veterans," Parish said. "And they say 'man I wish I would have done this 10 years ago when I got out of the military.'"
Parish considered suicide multiple times, but he knows his battle was worth fighting because now he's there for his family.
"Knowing at some point in my life, that I almost wasn't going to be here again..." said Parish "I have four children, my youngest is 3 years old, and he looks at Dad as if I'm like his Superman"
To those who find themselves struggling now as he used to, he says there is hope in the big picture.
"A day is 24 hours, a year is 365 days, you're on this earth for 70 plus years," says Parish. "If you have a bad day, a bad week, a bad year, it's not a bad life."
