All Gave Some: the effects not reaching out for help can have on a veteran who just got home

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - South Dakota is one of the best states in the country when it comes to veteran services, that’s according to Veteran Affairs, but almost 1 in 4 veterans still suffer from mental health concerns.

“Some of the veterans coming back have addiction issues, alcohol is a big choice to kind of drown out that demon in your head that you brought home. So, when you tie addiction issues with mental health, depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, you know it’s kind of a lethal combination and you have to attack it one thing at a time,” Jerry Derr, the founder of The Sergeant Colton Levi Derr Foundation said.

The foundation was created to raise awareness for veteran suicide and mental health after Sgt. Colton Derr took his own life in 2012 due to PTSD.

Now the non-profit hopes to honor his legacy, by making sure no other veteran succumbs to mental health battles.

“If one thing doesn’t work and you do reach out for help, that’s what makes it difficult because you think ‘Well, I’ve tried this once and it didn’t work.’ Keep fighting and keep it up. You’re going to reach out to the right place at the right time and you know, it’s going to get better,” Derr continued.

Still, more than 20 veterans a day lose this final battle.

“Saying that I’m not doing well is a tough thing to acknowledge that you’re not doing well. But what is tougher, like I’ve said, is taking that step to reach out and say that I can’t solve this on my own.”

Derr acknowledges the struggles that can come with fighting this battle alone, it can feel like no one else understands what you’re going through.

“They find it difficult in the civilian world where you know, being deployed, it’s one team, one mission. And then you come into a corporate or civilian job, and it’s not always like that.”

The process of getting help isn’t an easy one.

“Depending on your job situation, you go to treatment, and you don’t have that income coming in until you get plugged into the VA system, which is not easy, either of the two. You go ahead and apply for disability payments, physical or mental, that are related to your service with our country. So, all of these things play in their minds about, if I do reach out for help and I go in then who’s going to take care of things when I’m not here,” Derr said.

Since the Vietnam War, more and more veterans have been coming home, making access to help needed more than ever before.

“So, we have a lot more veterans coming back home from these multiple deployments that are physically disabled, you know battling mental health issues. Each of us has a responsibility, you know, not just to our veterans but to each of us to be a little bit open-minded and know that when somebody is reaching out for help,” Derr finished.

You can reach out for help using the national suicide hotline at 988.

“No one who commits suicide, you know, wants their life to end. Really what they’re doing is trying to kill that pain.”

For more information on veteran mental health services, click here.

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