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Volunteers and local business working to prevent veteran suicides

Posted at 4:56 PM, Aug 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-10 20:16:22-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- In the wake of a suicide epidemic among US military veterans, a volunteer group and a local business are partnering to make a change.

Melissa Jarboe, founder and CEO of the Military Veteran Project, spoke about the tragic epidemic.

“We know right now the veterans administration only has 37 percent of veterans registered since September 11th, so that 22 a day number I mentioned before is only derived on that 37 percent, so we’re missing 63 percent of veterans: which tells me we’re in the 100 a day range of veterans taking their own lives,” Jarboe said.

Ken Muche of Alorica says their company is contributing to the effort to make changes.

“Our employees are going to be volunteering their time to make calls to local businesses, local philanthropists and residents, to ask them if they can help out and join in," Muche said. "So we’re going to try to help raise some money here locally for [the Military Veteran Project] to help prevent veteran suicide."

The group’s mission is the prevention of suicides among military veterans through research and treatment. To learn more, click here.

Alorica says they want to hire and help veterans. To learn more about Alorica, visit their website.