Town recognizes Veteran Suicide Awareness

Posted 9/8/21

With September being Suicide Awareness Month, the Newburgh Town Board has adopted a resolution in support of Veteran Suicide Awareness.

In 2017, 136 Veterans died by suicide in New York State, …

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Town recognizes Veteran Suicide Awareness

Posted

With September being Suicide Awareness Month, the Newburgh Town Board has adopted a resolution in support of Veteran Suicide Awareness.

In 2017, 136 Veterans died by suicide in New York State, according to Councilman Anthony LoBiondo who introduced the resolution, noting that younger vets are more susceptible.

“For too long, there has been a silent outlook on those veterans who take their own lives for a variety of reasons,” LoBiondo said. “Recognizing them will help bring awareness.”

The Town Board resolution officially recognizes September 22 as Veteran Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day.

The date of September 22 for the observance is significant: The month of September is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Month and the number 22 is the average number of veterans lost to suicide in the U.S. each day, based on a statistic from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). According to a 2016 National Suicide Data Report from the VA, when compared to the general adult population, the rate of suicide among veterans is 1.4 times higher among male veterans and 1.8 times higher among female veterans. In 2016, alone, 153 veterans in New York committed suicide.

In 2019, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated a suicide prevention task force.

LiBiondo presented the town board with a picture of the black and gold Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Flag at its July meeting. It is reminiscent of the POW-MIA flag, with a human profile superimposed over a gold five-point star. The words “Honor the Fallen” appear at the bottom.

“I thank my fellow Board members for voting to pass the resolution, which calls to establish the #SAR Flag as the official state flag to raise awareness of veteran suicide and to remember and honor those who have served this country and have fallen victim to the epidemic of suicide,” LoBiondo wrote in a Facebook post. “In addition, our resolution is in support of the enactment of Bill S-4093/A6975, which would amend the NYS Executive Law to formally observe September 22 and the SAR Flag.”

Visit sarflag.com for more on the flag.