You can support a Veteran in your life by learning about their safety plan
You can play an important role in a Veteran’s life by helping them with a suicide prevention safety plan. If a Veteran you care about has made a suicide attempt, shared thoughts of suicide, has a mental health condition that increases suicide risk, or may be at risk for suicide due to other reasons, a safety plan is one of the best practices available for suicide prevention.
Veterans can create a safety plan with their health care professional or on their own with the VA Safety Plan App. VA encourages Veterans to share their plan with loved ones and people in their support network.
A safety plan is a personalized list of coping strategies and resources a Veteran can use before or during a suicide crisis. It is brief, written in the Veteran’s own words, and easy to read and reference in a moment of distress.
Here’s how Veterans can make a safety plan on their mobile device.
An app makes it easy to create a safety plan
VA worked with Veterans and health care professionals to create the VA Safety Plan app that makes this process easy. Once the Veteran downloads the app, you can sit down together and let it walk you through the plan, step by step. No personal or identifying information about the Veteran will be stored or shared, and they don’t need an account.
In the VA Safety Plan app, you’ll see how there are six steps the Veteran can review and respond to. Veterans should take the lead on sharing specific, personal information about these steps and ways in which they could use your support when they need it the most.
- Step 1: Warning Signs (that I may be headed toward a crisis).
- Step 2: Ways I Can Cope (on my own).
- Step 3: My Distractions (places I can go, and people I can call).
- Step 4: Friends and Family I Can Call (for support).
- Step 5: Professionals I Can Call (in times of crisis).
- Step 6: Keeping Myself Safe (by limiting my access to dangerous objects).
How you can help a Veteran with the process
You can help by suggesting ways to cope, like reminding them of what makes them feel calm. Maybe they’re a pet owner and you can remind them that stepping outside for a walk with their dog helps them feel mentally reset. If you know they tend to withdraw from you and other friends and family when they’re not doing well, you can encourage them to list that as a warning sign. Together, you can use a plan with plenty of information that can help keep them safe.
If you’re worried about bringing this topic up with a Veteran, know that it can be a simple, supportive conversation. You could take them aside in a calm moment and say, “I want to make sure we have a plan for any tough days. Want to walk through some steps we can take together?”
It’s their plan and their process, but your support can make it a better, smoother one. Encourage the Veteran in your life to share their safety plan, and any changes, with other reliable members of their support network, including their health care professional.
Other helpful resources for preventing Veteran suicide
As you can read about in this VA News story, the VA Safety Plan app has a few other important features and resources. There is a “Reasons to Live” feature in the app, where you can help the Veteran think about and add anything that makes them feel happy, hopeful, supported or anchored. Maybe that’s pictures of their family members, inspirational or faith-based quotes, or videos of joyful memories.
You’ll also see a sun-shaped icon in the app that features hopeful messages from other Veterans who have been through tough moments of their own. Let the Veteran know that they’re not alone in their struggles. Plenty of Veterans just like them turn to their loved ones and VA resources when they need some extra support.
There is also a button labeled “Get Support” that takes them right away to either 911 or the Veterans Crisis Line, the essential resource for Veterans who want someone to talk to. Remind them that they don’t have to be enrolled in VA healthcare to call the line, and that it’s available to any Veteran, for any reason.
Veterans (and you) can also reach the Veterans Crisis Line at any other time: Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255. They will get connected to compassionate people who can listen and help sort through what’s going on. It’s available for free, 24/7, whenever you need it.
VA is dedicated to reducing Veteran suicide, but we can’t do it alone. Veterans’ family members and friends are also crucial to prevention. Take action and learn more about how you can support Veteran suicide prevention or download the Safety Plan app today.
While the Safety Plan app can be used on its own, the app is not intended to replace professional care.
Author: Nikki Verbeck