When heroes need help - one call away from saving a life | va marion health care | veterans affairs

Veteran calls his local clinic at most challenging time of his life and this phone calls ends up saving his life. Early one morning, Navy Veteran Joshua Inkenbrandt was feeling like he was

at a very low point in his life. However low he was feeling, he had a plan. “I had a written plan to write a letter to my kids before I did anything crazy. I couldn't write that letter

- it bought me time,” shares Joshua. He knew it was now time to reach out to his local VA clinic for support. His normal Nurse practitioner was not in the office that day, but his message

was received and entered into a crisis chat pod, notifying our suicide prevention team that they needed to act quickly. “It was brief. It took like two minutes at max for someone to reach

out to me,” says Joshua. Enter Erin Minnette, Suicide Prevention Coordinator. “The Veteran was having problems at home and felt like he was out of options. I was able to keep him on the

phone until a police unit arrived at his house to take him to a local facility for help,” shares Erin. > "I just felt really grateful, to have somebody there.  Sometimes > it’s 

hard to reach out to your own people when you have been > wearing a mask for so long. And then you have Erin, and she was able > to help me out when I was in a really bad bind.  She 

focused my > attention while the police officer and the ambulance came by,” > says Joshua. Joshua was immediately taken to get the help he needed. Since then, Joshua decided to reach

out to Erin to show his gratitude. He wrote her a very kind and thankful letter: LETTER SUBMITTED BY VETERAN: “Dear Erin, How do I even begin to express my gratitude? In my darkest hour you

were calm and collected, a voice of reason. Your patience and compassion helped to save my life. Thank you. Thank you so much. I know that must have been extremely stressful. Please promise

to never downplay the service you provided me. You are a hero. Because of your help, my daughter will have a father to guide her, protect her, and to lean on when life gets hard. My son,

will have an example of how to express himself in a world that thinks men shouldn’t  feel. You have helped my two favorite people in the entire world; earning yourself a top spot in the

process! Thank you Erin. Thank you for being at work that day. Thank you for staying on the phone with me while I waited for the EPD to arrive. Thank you for shifting my focus and keeping me

calm and rational. You truly are a hero. In your own darkest hour I hope you remember me. I hope it helps you realize your value. It is people like you that make this world better. Never

forget the impact you have had on me and the people that love me. You will always have my gratitude. Most sincerely, Joshua Inkenbrandt” “"I really like working with Veterans because

they really appreciate the help. I can just tell the Veteran gratitude is more genuine," says Erin in response to the letter she received. Joshua would like to leave a message for his

fellow Veterans: > “Sometimes you get to a point where you feel like there is only > one option. I want to say that there is always more than one option. > If you feel like you 

can't find that, then reach out, because > someone like Erin will be there willing to help you out.” “When I first talked with him his voice was calm and flat, now when I talk with

Joshua, his voice is alive and I can tell he is happier," shares Erin. Lives can be saved when Veterans find the right support before a crisis. Learn how everyone can help prevent

Veteran suicide: MentalHealth.VA.gov/suicide_prevention/prevention