Florida District 13 gives veterans one stop for suicide prevention resources

The District 13 American Legion Family – Legionnaires, Sons of The American Legion, Auxiliary and Legion Riders – supported their mission of caring for each other by holding a veteran suicide awareness event at American Legion Post 110 in Port Charlotte, Fla., March 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event was open to veterans, their families and caregivers, and the community, where 25 vendors were onsite to help with mental health, counseling, filing VA claims, and more.

“I think the biggest thing for veterans is that we don’t always know the resources,” said Mike Turner, a member of Post 38 in Fort Myers and the co-chair for the event’s committee. “We tried to cover the whole gamut of providing for servicemembers in the state of Florida, for veterans in the state of Florida, for the family and dependents and for caregivers. We had quite a bit of care to help heal people or get them to know that there is a way to heal.”