Our Mission

 The Mission of the PTSD Foundation of America is to bring hope and healing to Combat Veterans and their families suffering from the effects of combat-related Post Traumatic Stress.

We do this by taking a whole-person approach, offering evidence-based peer-to-peer mentoring, both on an individual basis and in group settings. In addition, our programs and services are free to the Veteran and their family so that the focus remains on their journey to healing.

We take a collaborative approach to raising awareness of the increasing needs of the military community by working with government agencies, service organizations, churches, and private sector businesses to combine resources.

By taking our message to public events, media outlets, social media, and service organizations we can more effectively reach Veterans in crisis and make life-saving impact on the Veteran community.

Suicide is another PTSD related occurrence. Going through a traumatic event may increase a person’s suicide risk. The risk may be affected by how intense and how often the combat trauma was.

• “Why is suicide risk higher in trauma survivors? It may be because of the symptoms of PTSD or it may be due to other mental health problems, like depression. Studies show that suicide risk is higher in persons with PTSD. Some studies link suicide risk in those with PTSD to distressing trauma memories, anger, and poor control of impulses. Further, suicide risk is higher for those with PTSD who have certain styles of coping with stress, such as not expressing feelings.”*
• “Research suggests that for Veterans with PTSD, the strongest link to both suicide attempts and thinking about suicide is guilt related to combat. Many Veterans have very disturbing thoughts and extreme guilt about actions taken during times of war. These thoughts can often overwhelm the Veteran and make it hard for him or her to deal with the intense feelings.”*

According to the 2019 nation Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report suicide rate among Veterans have been found to be affected by economic disparities, homelessness, unemployment, level of military service connected to disability status, community connection and personal health and wellbeing.

Total Number of Suicides increased from 2005-2017: 20+ Veterans every day take their own life.

Unfortunately, suicide is all to often an outcome for combat Veterans with PTSD. While it is unclear exactly how many of these suicides are driven by PTSD and while there is certainly no all-encompassing explanation for suicide, there are direct correlations between PTSD among combat Veterans and suicide by Veterans. PTSD has a powerful impact on combat Veterans and their families and too often untreated PTSD can lead to suicide.

It is important for both Veterans and their loved ones to know THEY ARE NOT ALONE in their struggle and that there are hundreds of resources and thousands of people willing to talk and to help at any given moment. The tragedy of suicide has an extensive reach and it is estimated that one single death by suicide effects and average of 135 surviving individuals. If you or a loved one are having suicidal thoughts do not wait to reach out; help is only a phone call away.

Getting help with PTSD can help benefit a person who is having suicidal thoughts. If you are ever having suicidal thoughts get help immediately. If you are a combat Veteran call 1-877-717-PTSD (7873) Available 24 hours, a combat Veteran will answer the call.

Our Veteran mentors have lived similar experiences and trauma that many warriors have gone through and understand how difficult it can be to transition back to civilian life and to feel at peace again. At the PTSD Foundation of America, we work hard to promote suicide awareness and our goal is to prevent as many Veteran suicides as possible.

1-800-273-TALK (8255) Press 1 Veterans Crisis Line, available 24 hours a day.