Suicide Prevention Saturday 11th hour on the 11th Day
In this live YouTube stream, host Brooke Cheney, with co‑host DJ, leads a Veterans Day‑themed conversation focused on the crisis of veteran suicide. Brooke opens with stark statistics: two‑thirds of gun deaths are suicides, 98‑99% of firearm suicides involve men, and veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide as the general population, with first responders also at high risk. The discussion weaves historical context about Veterans Day (originating as Armistice Day on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) and honors not only veterans but also POWs and their families, noting the lingering pain of missing loved ones. Brooke highlights several veteran‑focused resources: Mario Mosin’s PTSD‑focused channel, the Wounded Heroes Fund, the Aiming for Zero campaign (which stages events to raise awareness and provide support), and Mike Rowe’s Returning the Favor program that supplies jobs and vehicles to veterans lacking skills or transportation. Throughout, the hosts encourage personal outreach—calling or texting friends in crisis—and stress that even small gestures can make a difference. Audience members share their own family military histories, prompting a roll‑call and fostering community connection. The stream concludes with a reminder to share resource links, a salute to veterans, and a brief personal update about Connecticut training requirements affecting the host’s participation in a separate event. The overall tone is conversational, empathetic, and action‑oriented, aiming to raise awareness, provide concrete help, and honor the varied experiences of veterans and their families.
Chapters
Hello everybody, it is Suicide Prevention Saturday. And why are we all here? Because 2 out of every 3 gun deaths the CDC talks about are suicides. And if we are trying to save lives, we need to talk about the mental health issues that we have here in America. So with that, happy Veterans Day. Or is it a happy day? It is because we are taking the time to honor our veterans, and so that's a good thing. Hey, G23. Sorry, I'm like It just— it seems it pops up and then something moves and I'm like, oh wait, look, something's shining. So anyway, I'm just gonna— yeah, never mind. So I was gonna say G23 is wearing sparkles today because I said he was shiny. But anyway, 2 out of 3 gun deaths are veterans— not veterans, holy smokes— are suicide. Here is the truth of the matter when it comes to suicide by firearm. It is 98-99% male. Our veterans are twice as likely as the average citizen to commit suicide, and our first responders are actually in that same kind of, um, whatever that's called, bracket, as far as high, high risk of, uh, suicidal tendencies and the possibility to lose their life to suicide. So, um, yeah, this is what we're here to talk about, the hard stuff, the suicide stuff, because nobody wants to talk about it. They want to act like it doesn't happen and it doesn't happen to anyone they know and that sort of stuff. Um, sorry, I'm just laughing because DJ's typing in here for me and I'm like, wait, I'm talking again. Anyway, that was a joke we had before we got online because I was online on my Brooke Cheney channel and he was online on my this channel. And I'm like, who's talking to me? That is me. So anyway, those of you who see the Great Start Shooting School channel talking to you, just say hi to DJ, because that's who's running that right now, because see, hands-free. All right. So what is Veterans Day? In case you're like me and at one point did not understand what Veterans Day is, originally it was November 11th and it was Armistice Day, and it was the day in which World War I ended, which was supposed to be the end of all wars. And one of the things you will hear is World War I formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Now, as of 1954, we have renamed this day Veterans Day, because unfortunately, as many of us know, or at least I really hope you know, World War I was not the end of all wars. There was then World War II, and then there was more wars. Oh my goodness. And I just went to a Veterans Day event this morning, and Gary would be very disappointed with me that I forgot what the next one was. Sorry. Yes. Thank you. Thanks, G23. So yes, for those of you who cannot see the face— no, YouTube side of things, when DJ posts stuff, he goes like this, and I am not an emoji kind of girl. So that's why they know it's not actually me. And for those of you who are on Facebook, you can chat too.. And I think that, yeah, it'll, DJ can choose to reply to those too. So anyway, here we are, Veterans Day. This is the day that we honor all of our military. It does not matter what branch it is. It is interesting that Veterans Day is the day after the Marine Corps birthday. So yesterday was Marine Corps birthday and today is Veterans Day. And Since the 10th comes after the 11th, I suppose this happens every year, so I shouldn't be surprised. But for whatever reason, my brain just linked those two together. But Veterans Day is for anyone and everyone who served. The idea of Veterans Day is that we are honoring those who served and stepped up because not everyone does. I believe the sad fact is 1% of Americans actually serve in our armed forces currently. There used to be a much higher number And yeah, we could talk about all sorts of reasons why we think that's good or bad. So that is kind of it. So for those of you who are here, who here is a veteran? If you're fancy, put a flag by your name. If you are not fancy, just go ahead and type in what branch did you serve in. There's no judgment. I like all of our military. And yes, National Guard does count. I don't care what some people say, But, um, and yes, Air Force is cool and Navy is cool and Marines are cool. And, and all of you who chose to step up, regardless of what your job was too, it's not like everyone who joins the armed forces are running around in foxholes. That is one of the many jobs. There are tons of things that happen, and I believe most people know that. However, DJ, While we're waiting for people to actually catch up with what I'm saying and what happens in the chat, do you want to do an actual verbal roll call to everybody for me, please?
I would be happy to do that for you, and thanks for hosting again today. Um, out there— well, you were playing what, double, triple duty at some point? Uh, so Brooke was out there, G23 also out there, Sariafan93. You got to get me the correct pronunciation on that. Um, so I can get it straight. Crabby Turtle is out there as well. G-Webs is out there. Mike White is also joining today. And that's your roll call.
All right, very cool. And yes, sorry, is helping me out because when I was saying World War I, World War II, and then I could remember it's the Korean War because that is what she brought up. And then the POWs, prisoners of war.
So Hold on.
I have fall and winter allergies and they really stink. So give me just a sec. All right. So here we are. So both Korean War. Oh yeah, POWs. So one of the things we talk about, one of the things that Gary talked about at our Veterans Day event today was the POWs and just how important it is to not forget them. They may be gone, they may be missing. And it's just one of those things. There are still prisoners of war out there. There are people that will never know what happened to their loved ones. And so not only are you dealing with the fact that someone went to war to try to keep our freedoms here in America, but they didn't come home and you don't know if they're a POW. You don't know if they're dead somewhere and you may never know. And just, it's, it's just amazing because I know we always talk about the veterans, but the veterans' families also need to be honored as well because it's just, it is a hardship to have be separated. I know that it would be very hard. So with that, let's talk about some of the wonderful resources that are out there for different veterans. Oh, sorry. All right, so yes, um, I might be girl crushing. Hi, She Fires Me, I love your channel. Um, so anyway, that's why— yes, anyway, I needed that right now because this is hard to talk about. So with that, let's go to Local Heroes Local Help Wounded Heroes Fun. This was brought to me by Mario Mosin. I believe many of you have followed his channel. If you have not, oh, for the love of peanut butter and jelly, DJ, do please put up Mario's channel so folks can check him out, because Mario did a bunch of, um, videos on PTSD, and he really gets into talking about how he dealt with it and what he's done and how hard it is in general, because veterans just prefer to talk to other veterans when it comes to these challenges. So Mario's channel is a great thing. Mario and I had a challenge back in July into August, and I donated $100 to these guys because I did 28 days out of 30 days of dry fire. So Wounded Heroes Fund, they are out in California. He has approved them in that he's gone to some of their events as well. Then one of my favorites is Aiming for Zero: One Veteran Suicide is One Too Many. These are the people who actually introduced me to the veteran crisis in that one day, on this fateful day, a, the gentleman who, one of the gentlemen who runs these events up here in New England Chris right here, the guy in the black shirt shooting one-handed, that's Chris Tessier. And he did a very, very poignant, I think, explanation. So for those of you who've never been to a competition, at the beginning of the day we always have our safety brief and it says who's doing what, where we're going, what are the rules on the range, that sort of stuff. So Chris is up there and we're doing this Sorry, we are doing the Aiming for Zero, and he has 22 veterans stand at the front of the group, and he's crying too. So, you know, if guys cry, I can cry too. But, um, he's like, yeah, by the end of today, all of these lives will be lost. And it was very hard to think about, and we don't talk about it because it sucks. But it's important to talk about because if those 22 people happen to know that they weren't alone, they happen to know that people are fighting for them. And that the truth of the challenge is that when you are suicidal and when you are feeling as if you cannot, you're not worthy and you need to take your own life, knowing you are not alone Makes a big difference. However, when you're in that place, pardon me, it's very hard to be resourceful. And this is why there are groups like Aiming for Zero. And this is how you, um, you just look up active heroes aiming for zero and get help. You look up something like Wounded Heroes Funds. Um, one of my next favorites that we're going to talk about is Returning the Favor by Mike Rowe. He actually does a bunch of different, uh, programs where it's veteran-specific. Now, I don't know, I didn't actually click through all of these. I just looked for veterans. But, uh, it's a very cool thing to watch. And if you've never watched it, you definitely have to check it out because I don't know how many of you guys know, but Mike Rowe used to do a show called Dirty Jobs. And the Returning the Favor is only on Facebook. So sorry, DJ, I know you don't do Facebook, but for this you might want to try because it's actually really cool. But he just goes to veterans, and the one that I watched that I remember was right next door in New York State. There was a veteran who had a garage, and when I say garage, you know, like a mechanic's garage. And what he did was raise money to get cars and give vets jobs as mechanics to help get vets cars. Because one of the challenges that he was dealing with was that so many vets come home and they don't necessarily have a skill set. Like my nephew, he was a tanker. What is he gonna do? He can't drive tanks when he gets back. So having no job is hard enough, and then a lot of vets don't have a car, and so they can't get a job because they can't get to the car, or they can't get to the— yeah, they don't have a car, so you can get to the job. There we go. So he not only gave them jobs, but he gave them cars and that sort of stuff. So Mike Rowe is very cool. I totally agree. Um, sorry, I'm— see, I'm trying to keep going, I swear. So anyway, that is kind of that. Those are my 3 favorites. And DJ, is there stuff that I'm supposed to catch up on in the chat? Because I was looking at my screen instead. Do I have anything else I need to talk to?
Well, there are a few that I would like to bring to your screen, and the first one is from Sariafan93 saying, both my grandfathers served in the Korean War. One was a guard on the DMZ and the other was a POW. They may have met each other during a prisoner exchange. Uh, G23 shares this: my dad was in the Army in Vietnam, and so was my uncle and grandfather. They were also in the Army. I was just beginning to highlight some of those things that people shared, and so I don't want to miss another as I scroll through.
Um, let's see.
Oh, here's, here's some more to share from Sariafan93. Um, I did get the, uh, username correct. Uh, goes on to say, my paternal grandpa was a Marine, he's almost 90, and my maternal grandpa was in the Army. Sadly, he's been gone for 8 years now.
Yeah, we have, um, my grandfather was in the Army, and I believe he was— I'm not even sure which war he was in, honestly. I just have— my grandmother had this picture of him in a white t-shirt and dog tags, and that's why I'm like, I know he was in the service. I actually don't know that he was in the Army. I just know he was in the service. I know that in our family we do have a familial tree that goes all the way back to the Civil War. The original— sorry, what was that first one? The Revolutionary War. That one. That's where we have people going all the way back to. So we have a great history in our families. I actually originally thought I was going to go in the service, but that did not happen. So anyway, I see a couple extra new people. DJ, you want to shout them out?
Yes, ma'am. She Fires has joined the conversation. So has Lakeview Outdoors, and Ozzy Osbourne is out there barking at the moon.
Very cool. Oh, all right. So, um, where else? What else? What else is important on Veterans Day? Veterans need our help. They need veterans to help them, apparently. But those of us who are not vets can still also help. We need to bring awareness and services because some of the simplest stuff is simply letting people know that there's resources. Again, when you're dealing with depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, thoughts, all of those things, you're not resourceful at those times. And this is where we will talk about this from time to time, but I don't think I've said it in a while. Pick up your phone when you're thinking about someone, whether you know they're a vet or not, and just call them and check in on them. I do, like Mario Mosin is one of my favorite long-distance friends because he's over on the West Coast, I'm over here, but because he's a vet, honestly, I will, and because I know that he struggled with PTSD and that sort of stuff, I will pick up the phone and randomly call him or text him. And whether it makes a difference or not, the answer is always yes. Whether you think it does or whether someone tells you it does, the answer is still always yes. People want to know that you are thinking about them. And yeah, so She Fires, your father is a veteran as well, and you, the living in several different states as a kid, I get that. And the funny thing is, is like, I used to tell people, I'm like, they're like, oh, where are you from? I'm like, well, I was born in Connecticut. And then we lived in Massachusetts, and then we lived in England, and then I lived in Connecticut again, and then I lived in Massachusetts, and I lived in New Hampshire, and, and the list goes on. And like, I can tell you how old I was by like where I lived, and everyone's like, oh, are you, uh, an army brat? I'm like, no, my mom and dad just got divorced and my mom had different boyfriends and we went all over the place. So, but yeah, I think moving on a regular basis definitely gives you character as far as you learn how to make friends quickly because you don't know how long you're going to be there. So, all right, well, I think we got everybody's, everybody's link out there that I wanted to. If any of you guys have ideas or different links, by all means, stick them down in the comments so people can grab them.. I didn't realize I didn't put them in the description when we started, so I will put them in the comments when we are done. So with that, that is the end of today's Veterans— what is this day? Veterans Day. Suicide prevention. Yes, I have words. Really, I do. DJ, would you like to say anything on our way out, sir?
I would like to offer a salute and an acknowledgement to all the veterans whom I know and those whom I don't know serving in any capacity for our country. Great, great amount of appreciation. And actually on today, it's kind of a solemn day for me. And I'm not sure how to get out of that. And sometimes I'm not sure, and I've never asked a veteran how they would like me to respond to the day. Is it just a general acknowledgement kind of thing? Or is it a little bit more investment in that? And I'm glad that you provided me the forum today and others as well to speak about that. So cool.
Thanks. I will tell you the answer to your question, not being a veteran, but having talked to lots of veterans. The answer is it depends. Every veteran has a different feeling over what they've done and they want acknowledgement. Some do not want acknowledgement. So there is no simple answer to your question is the real answer. The answer is it depends. Some vets are very thankful for us saying thank you for their service. Others get mad for you thanking them for their service. So there isn't a win thing. It's just like your friends. Some people like chocolate ice cream. Some people like vanilla. So the question is, as you said, you just ask if you need to know. Because everyone's got a different opinion. So with that, I like you. Yes, I do love my hermano. Yeah, he is my hermano. Yeah. Anyway, so I'm sorry, I was speaking my Spanish thing in my brain there for a moment. So anyway, yes, I do love us a Mario Mosen. And it's so funny because his real name is in my address book and I get confused when he calls because I'm like, who's that? So, um, but anyway, good night everybody. DJ, as always, thanks for helping me out, and, uh, I will see you all in another week because that's what we do. And for those of you who are going on to see Hillbilly Up in about half an hour or so at 10 o'clock Eastern, 9 o'clock Central, and I don't know what happens after that, um, y'all have fun. I'm not going to be there. Very exciting news, I am finishing up a training program because here in Connecticut all this stuff changed and, um, I'm having to do my own training program because NRA will not be valid here in Connecticut any longer. So that is my reason I am telling you all I'm not going to be on Hillbillies tonight. So you guys have fun and I will see you next Saturday. Good night, everybody.
