Local activists are hosting a screening to call attention to the high suicide rates among U.S. veterans.
For every U.S. soldier killed on battlefields in Iraq or Afghanistan in 2012, another 25 veterans died by their own hands. More than 6,500 veterans commit suicide every year — a death toll that has long since surpassed the total number of soldiers killed in combat since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
These harrowing statistics were laid out in a 2012 New York Times op-ed by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof, who writes about human rights, health and global affairs. The piece caught the eye of film producer Gerry Sprayragen and director Tom Donahue, who were inspired to create a film exploring the public health crisis that has become an epidemic — and, many argue, one of our nation’s greatest shames.
The resulting documentary film, Thank You For Your Service, premieres in Madison on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Barrymore Theatre. The screening is made possible by the Madison Arts Commission, Housing Initiatives and a number of other nonprofits focused on mental health and veterans services.
The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dean Loumos, executive director of Housing Initiatives, which will highlight how the issues raised in the film relate to members of our local community and the crisis of homelessness in Madison.
