Mitchell Reno, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2000-2004, was left with a traumatic brain injury after an explosion in Iraq. Years of therapy, medication, and alcohol weren’t providing relief, so he began working with horses. For the first time since the military, he can see a future ahead.
Similarly, after returning from war in 2014, Trecia Rodgers was faced with emotional and physical injuries that left her angry and contemplating whether life was worth living. After numerous therapies, Trecia found horses and began to participate in daily activities that she once thought wouldn’t be possible again.
These are just two stories from thousands of vets returning from war, only to find that an enemy remains within. We are facing an epidemic in this country affecting those who have already sacrificed so much and put their lives on the line for our nation. According to the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs, each day, on average, 20 veterans take their own lives. Their risk for suicide is 22% higher when compared to U.S. nonveteran adults. Due to untreated mental health problems, an increasing number of veterans are homeless, experiencing substance abuse problems, and gambling addictions, which often lead to suicide attempts and death. For too many veterans, a safe return does not mean the fight is over.
For many reasons, including stigma, severity of symptoms or lack of resources, suffering veterans aren’t receiving the care they need. While 30% of active duty and reserve military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health problems requiring treatment, only half of the vets in need actually receive it and only one-third are in the care of VA Hospitals and Health Systems.
How can we bridge this gap? To lead more veterans to treatment and reduce the number of suicides, we must cultivate a positive conversation around mental health — one in which seeking help is encouraged and seen as acceptable, not shameful. A mental illness can be as severe and debilitating as a physical illness — and mental health conditions are the third most frequently diagnosed category of conditions at the VA. We need our veterans to know that they are not alone in their struggles and that there is hope and help out there. Without action, the problem is only going to escalate.
Every person whether they are a veteran or nonveteran, has unique mental health needs due to his or her life experiences and biological makeup. For some, a conventional treatment plan of talk therapy or medication yields little or no results, discouraging them from continuing to seek help. Studies show that a systematic and integrated approach to treatment is more effective in reducing health care disparities in patients from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds and is more effective than conventional care models for treatment of depressed mood, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. In addition to nontraditional therapies such as meditation, mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, veterans participating in equine-assisted services have reported benefits including increased self-esteem, self-worth, and sense of community and decreased level of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and self-inflicting thoughts.
BraveHearts offered equine therapy to 834 veterans in 2018 alone. This year, BraveHearts will serve more than 1,000 veterans. The organization is also embarking on its third annual Trail to Zero ride this September — a 20-mile horseback ride through New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago — raising awareness for the 20 veterans we lose every day to suicide and offering a solution through equine-assisted services. BraveHearts rides will bring veteran suicide to the forefront of national conversation, while also educating veterans and citizens about the benefits of equine-assisted services as an alternative approach to healing.
The suicide-prevention task force recently launched by the VA and the White House is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to raise awareness of available treatments and therapies. With the recent funding for equine-assisted and other alternative therapies, bringing peace to more suffering veterans is possible.
Most veterans come to our farm in Harvard, Illinois, because nothing else has worked for them. It’s often not long before veterans also share with me how the horses were able to save their lives. Because of this, we know that change is possible by putting veterans and horses together. When we reach veterans battling suicidal tendencies and ideologies and let them know that they are not alone, that the community cares and nontraditional services help, we do our job. But there are still more veterans to help, and we’ll continue to ride to showcase the healing power of horsemanship to combat veteran suicide until 20 deaths per day becomes zero.
Meggan Hill-McQueeney is president and COO of BraveHearts, the largest Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) program in the country, offering equine assisted services to provide emotional, cognitive, social and physical benefits for veterans across the country at no cost since 2007.
