LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – Every day, 22 veterans take their own lives in the United States, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
It’s a statistic that is a stark reminder of the mental health crisis many veterans face. But when the tragedy strikes close to home, the numbers feel real.
This past September, a Lynchburg-area veteran took his own life after fatally shooting his girlfriend and another man, leaving his 6-year-old twins orphans.
For veteran Jene Crowe, this incident is more than a statistic; it’s a painful reminder of the challenges veterans face.
“Any veteran that falls,” Crowe said, “any service member that falls, I feel it. They are my brothers and sisters.”
The twins are now living with their aunt and uncle in Bath County, a family that already has three children of their own. While their hearts are open, their home is stretched to the limit.
“It’s a house that is probably 2/3 of the size of this room, probably half the size of this room,” Mike Lennon with Purple Heart Homes said, “and they have six to seven, sometimes eight people living in it. They have one functioning bathroom in this house with seven people. The heating situation is a small woodburning stove.”
That’s where the Purple Heart Homes Central Virginia Community Organized Volunteer Group and Lynchburg Area Veterans Council are stepping in. They’ve launched the Hearts for Healing campaign to raise money for a home addition.
“Due to the veterans’ suicide connection to this, you know, the veterans’ suicide 22 a day, it’s been an issue that this country has been dealing with for decades now,” Rex Brust, President of the local chapter of Purple Heart Homes, said. “Everyone knows the programs that are out there to try and help the veterans themselves but there is no real program to help the survivors.”
The cost for adding onto a home in today’s market is steep. So, they are calling on you to help by giving donations.
“We are going to need a lot of help from a lot of people to get this job done,” Brust said.
$60,000 is what they are aiming for. You can click here to donate.
By Taylor Locke
