LYNCHBURG (WSLS10) - According to a report from the Department of Veteran Affairs, 22 veterans commit suicide daily. Organizations like the Veterans Council, which is designed to help veterans in Lynchburg and Campbell counties, want to curb those numbers. Volunteers held a Homecoming picnic Saturday.
Organizers said the idea is to help soldiers make the transition easier from the battlefield to family life.
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Brian Flanagan has been in the Army for 10 years. He said he did four tours, two in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Flanagan admitted there has been some difficulties transitioning from off the battlefield.He is one of many who came to the picnic in Lynchburg to find out how soldiers, like himself, can get assistance.
"Not just through the VA and the army and the marines and the all the branches," he said. "But how we can help one another over come our challenges," Flangan said.
Otto Davis is with the Veterans Council. He said he wants to see veterans talk with each other so that they do not feel isolated if they need help.
"Don't let it eat you to the point where you feel like you don't have any other choice but to take your life, because that ain't a choice," Davis said.
Meetings are held Tuesdays at the American Legion Post 16 in Lynchburg.Â
If active duty service people need assistance, or if family members of active duty members need assistance, there's a mental help number, 1-800-273-8255.