Veterans die by suicide at a rate 72% higher than their civilian peers, and women veterans at a rate 101% higher. Lyndsay Tkach, Wounded Warrior Project's Director of Mental and Brain Health Services, has spent twelve years working on that problem. In the series finale, she explains why she calls suicide "a human issue" rather than only a medical one, and what it would take to reach veterans at scale before a crisis hits.
This conversation covers the risk factors that sit outside the therapist's office (financial distress, chronic pain, sleep problems, broken relationships), the difference between risk factors and warning signs, and how WWP screens every warrior who comes in through its financial, physical, and mental health programs. It also takes on a hard question: how do you screen a community that learned to lie on every health survey? Along the way, Lyndsay shares that one in four WWP warriors surveyed reported suicidal thoughts in the past year, why connection may be the most underused intervention, and why families need support too.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or reach the Veterans Crisis Line at 988, press 1.
This is Episode 5, the finale, of Still Here, a five-part series produced in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Catch up with Episodes 1–4 (Zach, Lindsey, Sam, and Joe) if you haven't yet.
Chapters:
0:00 Cold open: the final chapter of Still Here
0:40 Welcome, and introducing Lyndsay
1:12 How big is veteran suicide? The numbers behind the "22 a day" debate
2:47 "Suicide is a human issue," not just a medical one
4:06 Why veterans are at higher risk: losing structure and purpose in transition
5:56 The gaps in how veterans get help
8:18 Beyond therapy: non-clinical help and the four protective factors
10:32 Risk factors vs. warning signs
12:04 Screening before a crisis happens
13:33 No magic list: how WWP's triage program works
15:48 Who gets screened, and the one-in-four finding
17:06 "We all lied on every health survey": screening when people don't tell the truth
20:08 Does it matter whether a human or a form asks?
21:52 System gaps vs. veterans not asking for help
23:48 Where is the biggest room for improvement? Connection
26:05 Where to start: resources for veterans and families
27:35 Families, and the 135 people affected by a single suicide
