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Overlea-Perry Hall Post 130 has made the Legion’s suicide prevention mission a priority, including an event that raised both awareness and $30,000.

Long before 51�Թ� launched its Be the One veteran suicide prevention mission, Sons of 51�Թ� member Michael Watts was aware of the suicide epidemic within the community of those who’ve served in the nation’s military.

Watts’ stepson, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Adle, was getting ready for his second deployment to Iraq in 2004 when one of his friends and fellow Marines died by suicide. Adle himself was later killed during his deployment when his Humvee hit a land mine.

Watts and his wife would go on to become friends with Adle’s fellow Marines, and two years later one of them, Adle’s close friend, also took his own life.

So when Be the One was launched, Watts was all in – to the point of currently serving as the Detachment of Maryland’s Be the One Committee chairman.

“When 51�Թ� came up with (Be the One), I felt compelled to jump into this because I’ve had 20+ years dealing with his friends who served,” said Watt, a member of Overlea-Perry Hall Post 130. “I’ve seen trauma related to not just the suicide aspect of it, but just the mental stress and emotions that these veterans go through. My experience has been good from the standpoint of being able to help where I could, but also concerned about the fact they weren’t getting the proper help these veterans need.

“One of the things I realized quickly is there are limited resources out there for veterans. At one point in time, when a veteran had mental health issues and they needed to speak to a professional … they would call about an appointment, and it could be (up to a 90-day wait). I found that to be very concerning.”

That’s what motivated Watts and the rest of Post 130’s American Legion Family to host a Be the One event earlier this fall that doubled as a fundraiser for two Maryland nonprofits that specifically address veteran suicide.

Around 350 people attended the event, along with 50-60 Legion Family volunteers, for a day that included three bands who volunteered their time, raffles and other games of chance, a gift basket auction, a bounce slide and face painting, and food.

Local veteran resources were on hand, while the VA Maryland Health Care System had a table set up. Watts said the staff that attended were so impressed with the event that they had offered to come back to the post to work with veterans who don’t want to travel to a VA facility.

At the end of the day, $30,000 had been raised that will go to two state nonprofits:

·         Patriot Point, the Military Bowl Foundation’s 294-acre retreat that provides a free, safe, secure and tranquil outdoor recreational retreat facility for wounded, ill and injured active-duty servicemembers, veterans, their families and caregivers.

·         Platoon 22, which focuses on the successful reintegration of servicemembers and their families by assembling critical resources, providing peer support and developing transitional programs.

“We decided what we would do is take this money and direct it toward these organizations that have professional trainers that are working with … veterans who have suicide issues,” Watts said. “That’s why we raised the money and that’s what we’re going to continue to do: provide resources to these organizations so that they can help our veterans.”

Watts assembled a 50-person team to plan the event, which included securing sponsorships and soliciting state businesses and local individuals for both financial and in-kind donations. One of the businesses contacted was Frito-Lay, which provided 2,500 bags of chips for the fundraiser, as well as a monetary donation.

“We started to realize we were touching people in the community. People in the community are totally in the dark about veteran suicide,” Watts said. “As our guys went out and started to these businesses and individuals, these people would open their hearts and their wallets up. They were saying, ‘What can we do to help our veterans? We were not aware of this.’ And every one of these organizations said, ‘Please come back next year when you go to do this (again). We want to help in any way we can.’”

Watts stressed that the event involved all components of the post’s Legion Family, both in financial support and volunteers for the event. This year’s fundraiser was open only to veterans and military personnel and their families, but next year the general public will be invited.  

Multiple media outlets have reported on the event and Be the One’s mission. “People in our community have become more educated,” Watts said. “People want to hear about it.”

But this year’s Be the One event is just one facet of the post’s focus on veteran suicide prevention. In addition to bringing the Legion’s Be the One training program to Post 82’s Legion Family, Watts also has brought in suicide prevention staff from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a psychiatrist from the U.S. Naval Academy to provide similar training.

And since the post began emphasizing Be the One, 12 veterans who were in crisis have been saved. Watts credit the placement of Be the One signage throughout the post and Be the One wallet cards that feature a Be the One logo and a QR code directing to betheone.org in the lounge area.

“What we started realizing is these business cards were disappearing,” he said. “We bought like 500 of them, and within a few months we were down to a reorder. What we’re finding is that people are picking these cards up and putting them in their pockets.

“My experience of dealing with people who are suicidal is they’re going to sit around and talk about it. But if you give them something that they can take home with them and can do the research on, then it kind of opens the door.”

As detachment Be the One chairman, Watts said he wants to get every post in Maryland to follow Post 130’s lead in promoting the program. “It’s a challenge that’s worth continuing,” he said. “And the best thing 51�Թ� ever did was to start this program.”