The rising rate of veteran suicide is a topic that creates a lot of buzz in the news. The Office of Veterans Affairs (VA) has numerous programs to combat the issue. The problem is that its programs don’t work for many veterans. Save A Warrior (SAW), based out of Ohio, is dedicated to changing this narrative. The SAW program, founded in 2012, is at the front of the fight against suicide. To date, over 1400 men and women have gone through the program.
SAW provides a 75-hour program. From start to finish, it is designed to turn the perspective of trauma upside down. It is different. What does that mean? It means that for 75 continuous hours participants are immersed in the program. They give control of their lives to someone else. All applicants walk in voluntarily, looking for a new way to deal with their trauma (demons). If they stay, and if they allow themselves to begin to heal, they walk out with a chance.
Save A Warrior. (July 2021) [Picture of Cohort 0142 on Day Three, Completion photo, it shows the transformation 75 hours can make when dedicated men and women come together to make a difference in their lives.]
So…what exactly happens at a SAW cohort? Why does the SAW program work, when the VA often doesn’t? It works because staff members keep love part of the equation. They keep humanity at the forefront of the work they are doing. And it shows in their results.
Joe Ariza, cohort 084, said, “Day Zero—a participant arrives for their cohort. They meet the people that they will spend the next 75 hours with and get one last chance to back out. This is it. It’s the real deal. If they stay, everything changes. A cohort photo is taken. It shows a ‘before’ that highlights the hopelessness in the eyes of the participants.
