Grissom Airmen strive to #BeThere

Published Sept. 14, 2016
By Staff Sgt. Dakota Bergl
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- September is the Air Force’s Suicide Awareness month and the Airman and Family Readiness Center wants everyone to know that all it takes to make a difference is talking to someone.

It doesn’t take a behavioral science degree or years of experience working in mental health, everyone has the ability to help. That’s a key part of the Department of Defense’s #BeThere Campaign, which encourages making a difference through every day interactions.

Col. Larry Shaw, 434th Air Refueling Wing commander, expressed how important it is to remember that Grissom is a family and we should all be looking out for each other.

“We always tout ourselves as being a family,” said Shaw. “Family takes care of family – always. Be there, look for and listen to your fellow Airmen who may be having difficulties. No one is immune from the hardships of life, but we can as a family lift each other up and help to overcome those adversities.”

Erin Michael Jolliff, director of psychological health at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, is encouraging all Airmen to take an interest in their coworker’s lives and look out for warning signs that something might be wrong.

“Throughout the base you will see posters and fliers about the Be There campaign and it’s just to remind you to be present for Airmen who might be at risk,” said Jolliff. “We want to be able to reach out to Airmen and reach out to each other before it is too late.”

Jolliff said that there is a huge network of resources available for military members and she encourages anyone who thinks they might be at risk to use them. She also wanted to remind everyone that many of these resources can be accessed 24 hours a day.

“If you don’t want to talk to someone on base there are a bunch of other resources for Airmen, we have the Wingman Toolkit, we have the Veteran’s Crisis Line, Military One Source; the list goes on and on,” said Jolliff. “It doesn’t matter who you turn to for help, we just want people to get the help they need.”

The Wingman Toolkit is available online as a smartphone app or through their website, members can also contact Military One Source, the Veterans Crisis Line or stop by Jolliff’s office in the Airman and Family Readiness Center.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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September is Suicide Prevention Month

Grissom Airmen strive to #BeThere

Public Affairs Staff