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CCVS Steve Balczo - Suicide Prevention Month · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: It's 741 here at 55 Care CD Talk Station. Brian Thomas,
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  Speaker 1: happy to have in studio the return of Steve Belzer
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  Speaker 1: from the Klamath County Veterans Services. He brought a friend
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  Speaker 1: along with him. Important addition to the discussion today, it
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  Speaker 1: is Suicide Prevention Month. He brought Lisa Liston, who's the
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  Speaker 1: Suicide Prevention Program Manager with the Klamath County Veterans Services. Steve, Susan, Lisa,
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  Speaker 1: welcome to the program. It's a pleasure to have you
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  Speaker 1: both in the studio.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Brian.
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  Speaker 3: Good to see you, brother.
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  Speaker 1: Good to see you as always, man. And thanks as
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  Speaker 1: always to the Claremont County Veterans Services and all the
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  Speaker 1: Veterans Service Commissions for what they're doing for the veterans.
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  Speaker 1: And Lisa, I said it to you when you walked in.
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  Speaker 1: I go, I wish it was something better to talk about.
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  Speaker 1: But we got a problem on our hands. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: Suicide Awareness Month, it's worse among the veteran community for
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  Speaker 1: whatever reason. I think we're going to talk about that
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  Speaker 1: this morning because let's face it, Steve Belza, you serve
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  Speaker 1: your country proudly. Wasn't it three decades? Yeah. You were
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  Speaker 1: an active service member for three decades. Career, military. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Ages.
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  Speaker 1: It's just like, yeah, I did do that, didn't I?
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  Speaker 1: Reflecting back on my life.
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  Speaker 3: Can't we just stay with, didn't you, sir, Steve? Yes,
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  Speaker 3: I did.
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  Speaker 1: Listen, dude, I'll be 61 in a couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Don't even get me started on aging.
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  Speaker 3: But... I can't with Ken sitting right here.
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  Speaker 2: So....
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  Speaker 3: He's a stalwart, though.
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  Speaker 1: He is. He just turned 43 years old the other day,
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  Speaker 1: so he's still a young man. Anyway, you're welcome, Ken.
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  Speaker 1: Ken Williamson, by the way. He always comes in and
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  Speaker 1: he always keeps his mouth quiet. But I've got to
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  Speaker 1: ask you a critical question, though, and I think I've
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  Speaker 1: come to some conclusion on my own analysis of how
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  Speaker 1: it is that veterans struggle with post-service issues. Right. You're
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  Speaker 1: wound tighter than a drum while you're serving. You're sent
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  Speaker 1: on military operations that most of us couldn't even handle,
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  Speaker 1: but you do it day after day after day. I
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  Speaker 1: always like to boil it down to kicking doors in
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  Speaker 1: in Fallujah. You do that day after day after day.
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  Speaker 1: How could you ever wind down? So I want to
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  Speaker 1: ask you, compared to active service life, the 30 years
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  Speaker 1: you spent, what's it like for veterans when they leave
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  Speaker 1: the service?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a strange dynamic that occurs. When the veteran's
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  Speaker 3: on active duty, they're surrounded by their family. It really
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  Speaker 3: is almost a cultic society. I have my core family
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  Speaker 3: I went to combat with, I came back with. There's memorialization.
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  Speaker 3: You support one another. We know attitudes. We look in
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  Speaker 3: each other's eyes. Hey, what's going on, right? Something's different
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  Speaker 3: about you today. But when I leave that fence and
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  Speaker 3: I leave active duty, I don't have that same family
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  Speaker 3: set coming back home. Nobody knows how to look me
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  Speaker 3: in the eyes and say, Are you okay today? But
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  Speaker 3: then secondly, where's that support element that is reaching out
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  Speaker 3: to me to say, you're not looking that well. And
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  Speaker 3: some families are intimidated to say something to Bobby who's
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  Speaker 3: struggling with something. So it really is a unique dynamic
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  Speaker 3: as veterans are getting out, carrying all that weight from combat.
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  Speaker 3: And yet they've lost their intimate family set that was
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  Speaker 3: within the fence.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, listen, man, I just revealed my age, but what
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  Speaker 1: felt like yesterday is when I graduated from undergrad in
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  Speaker 1: college and I still to this day miss my fraternity
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  Speaker 1: brothers and hanging out with them and that kind of camaraderie.
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  Speaker 1: Just a tiny little connection point that I'm thinking of
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  Speaker 1: when you say that. You're 30 years with the fraternity brothers, basically.
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  Speaker 1: You're 30 years with the guys you hang out with,
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  Speaker 1: even when you're off. You've gotten leave or you can
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  Speaker 1: go out and hang out at the bars. They're the
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  Speaker 1: ones you hang out with. You leave and you go
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  Speaker 1: back to your hometown, which may be hundreds of miles
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  Speaker 1: away from them. That's a giant hole in anybody's life.
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  Speaker 3: It's a giant hole. But we've even seen the dynamics
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  Speaker 3: of moving personnel around coming back from deployment right to
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  Speaker 3: another unit because now they're learning a new family set
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  Speaker 3: within that unit.
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  Speaker 1: Well, might that have some upsides?
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  Speaker 3: It has some upsides, but yet nobody knows a new guy.
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  Speaker 3: So I don't know you pre that combat deployment. I'm
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  Speaker 3: seeing you post that combat deployment. And that almost sets
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  Speaker 3: up a new norm for that new unit until they realize, no,
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  Speaker 3: Johnson's actually suffering from some stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we're going to pause right now, and we'll bring
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  Speaker 1: Lisa over to talk about what we can do about this.
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  Speaker 1: Because it seems to me, I'm curious to know, are
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  Speaker 1: there any discussions with veterans who are getting ready to
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  Speaker 1: leave service about this reality? 749-55-CARE-CD Talk Station, Brian Thomas
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  Speaker 1: with Steve Belzo from the Klamath County Veteran Services and
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  Speaker 1: his friend who is there for our My Veteran Community.
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  Speaker 1: I attributed her to the Klamath County Veteran Services. Lisa
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  Speaker 1: Liston is with the Cincinnati VA, and she is the
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  Speaker 1: Suicide Prevention Program Manager there. Lisa, it's a pleasure having
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  Speaker 1: you in here on this important month, Suicide Awareness and
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  Speaker 1: the Problems of the Veteran Community. What is the role
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  Speaker 1: of the Suicide Prevention Coordinator over at the Cincinnati VA
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  Speaker 1: Medical Center?
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  Speaker 2: So I have a team of individuals, professionals, of course,
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  Speaker 2: and what they do is they follow up with veterans
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  Speaker 2: who have called the Veterans Crisis Line to offer them
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  Speaker 2: support and try to assist them in solving whatever the
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  Speaker 2: issue is that they're having. So it could be that
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  Speaker 2: they're still suicidal and we will work with them on that.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe they've never even enrolled in VA care. That's a
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  Speaker 2: big thing. If there's one message I could give to
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  Speaker 2: every veteran, enroll in VA care, even if you think, oh,
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  Speaker 2: I don't think I'll qualify or I don't really need
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  Speaker 2: it right now. The reality is at some point in
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  Speaker 2: your life, you're probably going to need it.
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  Speaker 1: And here's why.
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  Speaker 2: As you age, sometimes your income drops and you will
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  Speaker 2: qualify because of your income. So always apply and find
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  Speaker 2: out what services that are available to you. This was
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  Speaker 2: a number of years ago. I contacted a veteran who
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  Speaker 2: had called the crisis line. He was like 92. And
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  Speaker 2: I started talking with him. He was having all kinds
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  Speaker 2: of financial issues. He had never enrolled in VA care.
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  Speaker 2: And so I was able to help him get enrolled
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  Speaker 2: because he could get all of his health care there.
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  Speaker 2: So sometimes people don't know. I've had other veterans who
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  Speaker 2: have enrolled in VA care and found out, oh, I
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  Speaker 2: do qualify for a service connection. In a sense, you're
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  Speaker 2: leaving money on the table.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I was just going to say that as a
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  Speaker 1: practical point. Hey, Lisa, how much does it cost to
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  Speaker 1: enroll and what's your monthly payment for these benefits?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's free.
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  Speaker 1: Right. And you might need hearing aids. Let's say you're
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  Speaker 1: in great mental health. Everything seems to be going all right.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have any heart issues. You don't have any
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  Speaker 1: blood pressure issues. But go ahead and sign up anyway.
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  Speaker 1: You're not taking benefits away from any other veteran. You
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  Speaker 1: earned it. And you may need hearing aids down the road.
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  Speaker 1: And who knows, life could deal you a bad hand
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  Speaker 1: and you may end up needing some psychological services, which
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  Speaker 1: the VA offers tailored to veterans' needs.
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  Speaker 2: And we have so many services that people don't realize.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, we have substance abuse programs. We have military
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  Speaker 2: sexual trauma programs. We have our general mental health and
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  Speaker 2: we have suicide prevention. I mean, we have a lot
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  Speaker 2: of services available. PTSD treatment is available. And now we
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  Speaker 2: have a lot of our programs can be offered virtually.
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  Speaker 2: So you don't even have to drive down to the VA.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of times veterans would tell me, I don't
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  Speaker 2: want to drive down there. The parking's horrible. I totally agree. But, hey,
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  Speaker 2: you can do it virtually then. So, you know, there's
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  Speaker 2: a variety of ways you can take advantage of the
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  Speaker 2: services at the VA.
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  Speaker 1: Hold on. There you go. Go ahead. It's okay now.
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  Speaker 1: Joe took care of it.
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  Speaker 3: Joe, you're the man.
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  Speaker 1: With PTSD. PTSD.
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  Speaker 3: PTSD is not always correlated to combat.
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  Speaker 1: No.
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  Speaker 3: It could be here as a retiree, I could experience something, right?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think a lot of retirees go through that
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  Speaker 1: in some degree.
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  Speaker 3: But we tend as a community to say PTSD is
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  Speaker 3: only wartime, right? I can only have PTSD with the
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  Speaker 3: VA if I served in combat. And I want the
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  Speaker 3: listening audience to hear that is not the case. If
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  Speaker 3: you have suffered something in life as a veteran and
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  Speaker 3: are struggling with PTSD and You might have got robbed
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  Speaker 3: out there leaving the casino. I don't know. Maybe you
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  Speaker 3: were stabbed. Maybe it was a bad car accident that
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  Speaker 3: you saw. It's still post-traumatic stress disorder.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think it's a disorder. I think it's such
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  Speaker 1: a common phenomenon. We shouldn't call it a disorder. It's
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  Speaker 1: post-traumatic stress. It is. Exclamation point. That's me. No, let's
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  Speaker 1: put it in.
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  Speaker 3: Let's make that change.
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  Speaker 1: Take it out of there. You're not dysfunctional. You're not.
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  Speaker 1: It's just a common phenomenon that sadly veterans struggle with
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  Speaker 1: more because There is that combat element. Or traumatic experience.
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  Speaker 1: Or traumatic experience.
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  Speaker 3: Let's make it T-E.
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  Speaker 1: Just there you go.
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  Speaker 3: Why's it got to be post?
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  Speaker 1: Post-traumatic. All right. Pivoting back over to Lisa, let's get
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  Speaker 1: some practical questions. Obviously, you know, my listening audience, very
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  Speaker 1: concerned about the veteran community, lots of veterans in it,
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  Speaker 1: but veterans' families as well. We need to be aware
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  Speaker 1: about the problems that a veteran is struggling with. What
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  Speaker 1: can we do? What do we need to do by
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  Speaker 1: way of observation? What can we do by way of
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  Speaker 1: recommendation or comments to that struggling person in our world?
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  Speaker 2: So one of the first things you want to consider
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  Speaker 2: is what do I know about suicidal thoughts or the
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  Speaker 2: common veteran who may be struggling? Learning what those warning
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  Speaker 2: signs are for suicide. So many times, you know, I
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  Speaker 2: run across folks who want to help. but they don't
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  Speaker 2: know what the signs are. So we actually have a
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  Speaker 2: VA-SAVE training that family members, community members can take this
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  Speaker 2: training that really explains to them what are the symptoms
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  Speaker 2: and what are the warning signs. So if you have
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  Speaker 2: somebody who's withdrawing from their family and friends, that could
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  Speaker 2: be a sign that they are having suicidal thoughts or
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  Speaker 2: perhaps they're escalating their drug or alcohol use.
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  Speaker 1: Just going to say that.
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  Speaker 2: Huge, yeah. Self-medication.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And so those are times when you might want to
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  Speaker 2: ask the person, hey, have you been thinking about suicide?
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  Speaker 2: Because I'm really concerned about you. Or you might say,
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  Speaker 2: this is my favorite, is I might say to someone,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I've noticed that you've been drinking a lot
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  Speaker 2: more than usual, and I'm really concerned about you. I
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  Speaker 2: know that sometimes veterans who are escalating or using more
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  Speaker 2: alcohol or drugs sometimes think about suicide. I'm wondering if
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  Speaker 2: that's what you're thinking about.
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  Speaker 1: Indeed. And also note that alcohol is a depressant. So
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  Speaker 1: it's exacerbating an already depressive situation. Absolutely. Just making it worse.
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  Speaker 1: So reach out, help someone. And, you know, family members, friends,
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  Speaker 1: loved ones, you're all in a position to keep an eye.
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  Speaker 1: You know these folks better than anybody else. You know
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  Speaker 1: the personality. You've known them for decades, let's say. You
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  Speaker 1: know when something's wrong.
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  Speaker 2: And reach out. You know, if you're a family member,
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  Speaker 2: one of the best things you can do is call
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  Speaker 2: the Veterans Crisis Line and say, hey, I'm worried about
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  Speaker 2: my son or my brother or whoever it may be.
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  Speaker 2: And what happens is that is a free service. And
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  Speaker 2: what they generally will find out is, okay, what's the
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  Speaker 2: guy's name and number? And they will offer to call
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  Speaker 2: the veteran themselves and do an evaluation to figure out
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  Speaker 2: what can we do to help that veteran. So the
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  Speaker 2: family member, community member, they can be the conduit, right,
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  Speaker 2: the bridge. that says, here, I'll get you help. Sometimes
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  Speaker 2: we have to help people without necessarily them saying, help me, right?
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  Speaker 2: If I see somebody fall on the street, I'm not
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  Speaker 2: going to say, gee, do you need help? Obviously, I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to run over and say, here, let me help you.
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  Speaker 2: And sometimes when we see people in a situation where
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  Speaker 2: they're feeling really down and depressed, we need to talk
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  Speaker 2: to them and we need to also reach out for
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  Speaker 2: them and get them the help they need.
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  Speaker 1: And I would imagine the first try isn't always a
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  Speaker 1: successful one. It may take a couple of additional efforts.
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  Speaker 1: And again, calling the Veteran Crisis Line, which is 988.
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  Speaker 1: It's like a 911 number, 988. If a veteran's out
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  Speaker 1: there struggling with suicidal ideation, the Veterans Crisis Line, 988,
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  Speaker 1: and then hit the number one.
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  Speaker 2: Correct.
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  Speaker 1: That takes you right to the veterans segment of the
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  Speaker 1: Suicide Crisis Line. Right.
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  Speaker 2: And what they'll do is give you VA services. So
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  Speaker 2: they'll tell you what's available, ask you, hey, do you
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  Speaker 2: want follow-up? And then we'll call them and help them
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  Speaker 2: as much as we can.
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  Speaker 1: God bless the American veteran. You know, we care about you.
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  Speaker 1: It's 988, then press 1 for suicidal ideation. And for
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  Speaker 1: the family member that needs to get some information on
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  Speaker 1: how to help out, Lisa Liston, she's the Suicide Prevention
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  Speaker 1: Program Manager of the Cincinnati VA. Steve Belzo from the
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  Speaker 1: Claremont County Veterans Services. I appreciate what you guys are
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  Speaker 1: doing each and every day for the American veterans. Keep
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  Speaker 1: up the great work.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks for being here, brother. If I could say one
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  Speaker 3: last thing to your audience, the Compact Act by Congress
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  Speaker 3: brought about That if you're a veteran suffering with these,
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  Speaker 3: you can walk into any emergency room without even VA
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  Speaker 3: health care, and it's going to be covered. You just
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  Speaker 3: tell them.
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  Speaker 1: You're a veteran. Thanks for adding that.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: Very important point. And sign up for your VA benefits.
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  Speaker 1: Would you?