Check A Vet was started out of necessity.
Check A Vet founder Michael Carmichael saw firsthand the tragedy of our nation’s epidemic of Veteran suicide. As Michael looked across the landscape of nonprofits working on the issue, he could not find a model that was having any impact on the problem. By studying the data of Veteran suicide over the past 20 years, it became clear to Michael that combined nonprofit and government efforts were insufficient, including the billions of dollars that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs had spent trying to solve the issue.
Michael realized that the problem with these efforts is that they only target Veterans. There are 18 million Veterans in the US today. There are 350 million Americans. What if we can get these Americans to forge a meaningful and routine relationship with the Veterans in their lives? If family members and friends are given a front-row seat to their Veterans’ lives and educated on the warning signs of suicide and other struggles Veterans face, they can provide a sorely lacking local support system to prevent Veteran suicide.
It’s time to try something different.
To get people’s attention, we need them to know that together, we can win this battle. Check A Vet uses three simple messages to spread the word.
1. Veteran suicide is preventable. According to the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, the VA, and mainstream psychology, psychiatry, mental health, nursing, and counseling, suicide is preventable. Check A Vet is sharing these approaches to suicide prevention on our website in an easy-to-find and easy-to-understand way.
2. Have you checked on your Veteran today? Our name says it all. By reaching out to Veterans in a meaningful and routine way, Americans can replace the isolation that can tragically lead to suicide with companionship.
3. Stop looking at suicide as the problem. Look at suicide as a symptom of the problem. The real problem is identifying and addressing whatever is stressing that Veteran so much they consider taking their own life to make that pain stop. Treat that problem, and that suicide will never happen.
Our messaging has reached over 10,000 people via social media this year alone. But we still need help to turn 10,000 into 10 million and then 10 million into 100 million.
It will take all of our combined efforts to prevent Veteran suicide. Think about how much our nation’s heroes have sacrificed for our freedom. It’s time for every individual American to see what they can do to help.
Here is what people have been saying about Check A Vets’ impact so far:
“This is a wonderful model. Finally, someone is presenting a problem/solution approach to preventing Veteran suicide. I only wish Check A Vet was around before it was too late for my son.”
“This organization is the real deal for building awareness and solutions for truly understanding the challenges facing our Veterans. God Bless!”
“Great Leadership. Great Sources. Remarkable Cause. #checkavet365”
“Doing an amazing job my friend.”
Who supports what Check A Vet is doing?
Progressive Insurance and Enterprise Rent-A-Car like what Check A Vet is doing so much that they donated an $80,000 Ford F-250 with a custom-branded wrap. This truck is 1 of just 10 commercial vehicles they donated last year.
Murray State University donated the best vendor space inside the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, to Check A Vet for 6 straight basketball home games. The MSU faculty is also helping with Check A Vet’s initiative to start proof-of-concept, peer-to-peer support groups. So far, four professors from the Psychology and Counseling Department are on board. This academic support ensures our messaging is grounded in the current psychological methodology and techniques.
Speedway Motorsports has donated prime vendor space at their NASCAR Cup Series races.
Whiteknuckler Brand sponsored Check A Vet’s trip to Sturgis, South Dakota, in 2022. This sponsorship put Check A Vet in front of the more than 600,000 people that attended the event. WKB continues to sponsor Check A Vet with promotion codes that save customers money and contribute a portion of the sales directly to Check A Vet.
Peco Signs in Murray, Kentucky donate 10 percent of their net revenue to Check A Vet.
Spartan Trailers and TPD trailer sales in Dexter, Kentucky, have made a substantial donation to Check A Vet that will continue to support our attendance at regional and national events.
Leatherwood Distillery in Pleasant View, Tennessee, sponsors Check A Vet’s mission.
The following government officials support Check A Vet’s mission and its proof-of-concept, peer-to-peer support groups:
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senator Rand Paul
U.S. Representative James Comer
