Starting at midnight tonight, and spacing out each suicide at intervals of 65 or 66 minutes, the below timeline matches up with the number of veterans who will commit suicide over the next 24 hours according to recent Veterans Administration statistics on the average number of veterans who take their own lives daily in the United States of America.
I encourage readers, veterans or not, to think about their routine actions at the times listed for the next 24 hours and to ask yourselves what it is you could do in 65 or 66 minutes to help build community and connectedness with those who served and your community as a whole over 24 hours. This is not just about veteran suicide, as there are some concerns about the veracity of the study, but also about disconnected communities in general. One suicide, veteran or not, is one suicide too many. If people feel needed, valued, and connected, we will all have more reasons to leave. It is not about stopping suicide as much as it is about encouraging life.
Wednesday
12:00 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
1:05 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
2:11 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
3:16 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
4:22 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
5:27 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
6:33 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
7:38 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
8:44 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
9:49 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
10:55 am: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
12:00 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
1:06 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
2:11 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
3:17 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
4:22 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
5:28 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
6:33 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
7:39 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
8:44 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
9:50 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
10:55 pm: one veteran succeeds in taking his or her own life.
We can, we must create 22 reasons for 22 veterans to chose life every hour of every day. If anyone has any interest or connections to someone or group of people who would like to see this as an art installation, please get in touch.