![\"Soldiers](\"http:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/images.foxnews.com\/content\/fox-news\/us\/2018\/06\/28\/va-suicide-data-shows-vets-still-desperately-struggling\/_jcr_content\/par\/featured_image\/media-0.img.jpg\/735\/414\/1530126624628.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
<\/strong><\/div>\nSoldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) salute as Taps is heard nearby at Arlington National Cemetery. Alington, Virginia, May 25, 2017. \u00a0(REUTERS\/Kevin Lamarque)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The suicide rate among vets has not improved and remains a deeply disturbing problem, despite work by the VA and others, according to a VA analysis and statistics obtained by Fox News.<\/p>\n
Last week, the VA released<\/a> findings from a years-long investigation into veteran suicide data from 2005-2015 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The findings are clear: the suicide rate is constant.<\/p>\n Veterans are more than twice as likely to die by suicide as non-veterans, according to the VA report. Additionally, VA researchers found the number of vets who take their own lives each day \u201cremained unchanged at 20.\u201d And even more-recent data obtained by Fox News suggests things may not be much better in 2018.<\/p>\n Even for the mother of a U.S. Marine who took his own life after battling PTSD, and who has since dedicated her own to preventing veteran suicides, the numbers are stunning.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea it was that bad,\u201d said Janine Lutz. \u201cThat\u2019s really lighting a fire under my butt to work harder.”<\/p>\n The Veterans Crisis Line provides 24\/7 support to veterans in distress, as well as concerned friends and family members. Staffers are available by phone at 800-273-8255 (Press 1), online at VeteransCrisisLine.net\/Chat, and via text at 838255.<\/p>\n The volume of phone calls the Crisis Line receives is staggering. The VA told Fox News that since October 31, 2017, the Veterans Crisis Line has fielded approximately 222,000 calls from veterans who are having thoughts of suicide. That is in addition to the 49,000 calls from family members or friends who are concerned about a veteran who is considering suicide.<\/p>\n That breaks down to nearly 950 calls from veterans (or nearly 40 calls per hour) every day since Halloween, and more than 200 calls a day from friends and family.<\/p>\n “The mother of all battalions”<\/b><\/p>\n Lutz, who lives in Florida, is affectionately referred to by many in the veterans’ community as \u201cthe mother of all battalions\u201d for her efforts to bring veterans of all stripes together, and prevent more veteran suicides, via the LCpl Janos V Lutz Live To Tell Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lutz started Live To Tell to honor the memory of her son \u201cJonny,\u201d a Marine who took his own life while under the influence of a cabinet\u2019s worth of medication for his PTSD. Since then, she has sued the government for her son\u2019s death, eventually winning a settlement out of court, but her work didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n Janine Lutz \u00a0(Live to Tell Foundation)<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAbout five months after [Jonny\u2019s] death, I woke up one day and I was mad,\u201d Lutz told Fox News. \u201cI was mad knowing that my son wasn’t the first to die like this. And I said why didn’t somebody tell me\u2026 why aren’t we doing more as a community? And it was then I decided that I was gonna be the voice, and fight for those who fought for us.\u201d<\/p>\n It was only a year after her son\u2019s death that Lutz made her first foray into advocacy, organizing a motorcycle rally that brought out an unexpectedly large number of people from across the country. She was excited about the hundreds of supporters who turned out, but unsure of what to do next.<\/p>\n That was until Lutz\u2019s niece played a song for her that she says \u201cgrabbed me by the chest,\u201d and inspired a plan to save the lives of Veterans across the country:<\/p>\n Buddy Up<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to buddy up \u2018cause yup, this is wrong.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Surviving battle, but die when we\u2019re home.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n <iframe width=”720″ height=”405″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X92tVxqnmHs” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n Yeah it hurts, that\u2019s why I made this song.<\/i><\/p>\n It\u2019s time to see the signs, like the lights when it\u2019s on.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Those lyrics are from the song \u201cRed Flags<\/a>\u201d by Soldier Hard, an artist whose real name is Jeff Barillaro and who also happens to be an Army combat veteran. Barillaro dedicated himself to creating music that gives a voice to veterans, and the issues they experience along with their friends and families. When Lutz heard the lyrics to his song, she says she knew immediately what she had to do.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said \u2018you all need to buddy up\u2019\u2026 and he was talking to the veterans out there,\u201d Lutz says. \u201cWhen I heard that, I said that’s it. I’m gonna get these guys together, build local communities, facilitate \u2013 I don\u2019t know how, but that\u2019s what I\u2019m gonna do.\u201d<\/p>\n Using Soldier Hard\u2019s song as inspiration, Lutz has since established two \u201cLutz Buddy Up\u201d social clubs, one in Florida and one in Massachusetts, and this summer she\u2019s touring the country in the hopes of establishing even more. The concept is simple: bringing veterans together (and even first responders) so they can support one another while sharing a meal, playing a game or two, or just chatting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome our veterans just as they are, wherever they are,\u201d Lutz says. \u201cWhatever mindset they’re in, we welcome them. All we want to do is connect them with their peers, and it’s just been a great success. Dozens and dozens of success stories.\u201d<\/p>\n Lutz says membership has skyrocketed from just a handful back in 2014, to well over 500 in 2018 \u2013 including veterans from every U.S. armed conflict since the Korean War.<\/p>\n (2011 Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n Asked what she would tell veterans who might be suffering in silence, or friends and family who might be concerned about a veteran they know, Lutz says to remember that connecting with peers is the key.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to speak to their peers, someone who has walked in their shoes,\u201d Lutz says, before pointing out that this is the exact philosophy soldiers employ on the battlefield.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s what they fight for, to keep the guy next to them alive\u2026 Yeah, they have a mission, but the biggest part is making sure the guy right next to you is alive and well,\u201d Lutz says. \u201cYou’re watching each other, and that\u2019s what they have to continue when they get home\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cSo if you don\u2019t have any local buddies you know, find some in your community because they’re everywhere, and they’re looking for help too,\u201d Lutz says. \u201cReach out to other veterans in your communities because that is your best medicine – your peer who has walked in your shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n If you are a Veteran in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, or if you are someone who knows a Veteran in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 800-273-8255 and press 1. You can also chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net\/Chat<\/a>, or send a text message to 838255.<\/i><\/p>\n Retrieved from: http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/2018\/06\/28\/va-suicide-data-shows-vets-still-desperately-struggling.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The suicide rate among vets has not improved and remains a deeply disturbing problem, despite work by the VA and others, according to a VA analysis and statistics obtained by Fox News. By Alex Diaz | Fox News \u00a0 Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) salute as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/content\/dam\/fox-news\/images\/2018\/06\/27\/veterans-crisis-line-2.gif\")
<\/p>\n![\"janine-lutz\"](\"http:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/images.foxnews.com\/content\/fox-news\/us\/2018\/06\/28\/va-suicide-data-shows-vets-still-desperately-struggling\/_jcr_content\/article-text\/article-par-11\/inline_spotlight_ima\/image.img.jpg\/612\/344\/1530199722385.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"ISKANDARIYA,](\"http:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/images.foxnews.com\/content\/fox-news\/us\/2018\/06\/28\/va-suicide-data-shows-vets-still-desperately-struggling\/_jcr_content\/article-text\/article-par-24\/inline_spotlight_ima\/image.img.jpg\/612\/344\/1530128151888.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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