The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) is pleased to announce the City of Dothan will serve as the first stop on a statewide tour of town halls for the Alabama’s Challenge for Preventing Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF).
The town hall is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. at the Dothan Opera House and is open to all Veterans, friends, and family in the Wiregrass region.
“We are grateful to have the City of Dothan and Mayor Mark Saliba serve as the first town hall site for Alabama’s Challenge,” said Alabama’s Challenge Co-Chair Kent Davis, who is also the Commissioner of the ADVA. “The Wiregrass region is a great example of Alabama’s pride in its military and Veterans. We look forward to establishing a footprint and sustaining partnership with the City of Dothan and the surrounding communities and to continue serving those who have served us.”
Alabama’s Challenge is a statewide effort to combat a continuing stigma Veterans face with mental health. While approximately 17 Veterans in the U.S. die by suicide per day, the Veteran suicide rate in Alabama is even higher than the national Veteran average and significantly higher than the national civilian average. Recently released data shows nearly 18% of those who died by suicide in Alabama in 2020 were Veterans, though only 9.1% of Alabamians have served. Male Veterans die by suicide at a rate 1.3 times higher than civilian counterparts, and for women Veterans it is 2.1 times higher.