Operation Engage America, a nonprofit that helps veterans with PTSD, suicide prevention and other mental health issues, held a resource fair at Liberty Station Saturday.
After Coronado couple Howard and Jean Somers lost their son Daniel to suicide in 2013, they started the nonprofit – now in its third year.
Daniel Somers was an Army National Guardsman who returned home from Iraq with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and Gulf War Syndrome.
Following his death, his parents made it their mission to make sure no other veteran suffered the way their son did.
Military veterans are at a much higher risk of suicide than the general population, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Around one veteran a day commits suicide, according to a study published in the February 2015 Annals of Epidemiology, which looked at 1.3 million veterans discharged between 2001 and 2007.
It is estimated that anywhere from 11 to 20 percent of veterans deal with some form of PTSD.
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Jean Somers explained that many veterans think the VA is the only place they can go for help.
“But if you don't do well at the VA or can't get into the VA, there are all these other nonprofits, and county or state organizations to help pick up the slack,” she told NBC 7.
The fair is now held in various cities across the country.
