Recently my first and favorite cousin, Janet from Seattle, sent me a request... to help her celebrate her birthday wish. You see, Janet's only son Justin was a war veteran who suffered from PTSD, until he took his own life. Justin, a husband and father, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy. He did 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star medal. He was honorably discharged in 2010 and then spent 2 years in the Army National Guard until 2012.

Janet's request was worded as follows: "For my birthday this year, I'm asking for donations to Stop Soldier Suicide. I've chosen this non-profit because their misssion means a lot to me, and I hope you'll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me. Every little bit will help me reach my goal."

Stop Soldier Suicide

... is a non-profit orgainization which empowers the military community by providing free resources and support to all past and present military and their families through an established, comprehensive, trusted network of individuals and organizations that meet the complex needs of the military community, and are capable of anticipating and mitigating suicide risk factors, promoting resiliency, inspiring hope, and encouraging healing and personal growth.

On average, *22 veterans and active duty service members are lost to suicide every day — and hundreds of thousands more struggle with mental and physical issues, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This crisis impacts military from every generation and branch of service, as well as their family members.

*Statistic taken from Stop Soldier Suicide's website

As a veteran myself (and family member), not only will I make a donation to this good cause, I am asking my Steemit friends and the Steemit community to please help this great organization with their mission. Anything you can give goes a long way... from helping a veteran get their life back to helping saving a veteran's life.

All proceeds from this post, recieved through your generous upvoting, will also be donated to Stop Soldier Suicide. If you would like to contribute directly, you can do so by visiting the Stop Soldier Suicide website. or you can simply transfer SBD to this account and I will forward all donations to this wonderful cause. Please resteem for widest possible distribution!

Thank You!

In Memoriam - Justin James Crivello (1978-2015)