SAN ANTONIO — The holiday season is known to be a time where friends and family come together. But there are those, including military veterans who may be experiencing dark thoughts and a sense of loneliness.
Staff Sergeant Mike Gonzales served his country on the frontlines of war for more than 20 years. Now he’s helping other veterans and first responders as south Texas director of the Birdwell Foundation for PTSD, a non-profit that strives to eliminate suicides.
“I was called out after 9/11, we were the first army unit deployed to the sandbox, Kandahar, Afghanistan,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he returned home unrecognizable to friends and family.
“I began to look underneath every bed and closet. My wife would say that’s not my husband. My children would say where’s my father and I became an out-of-control alcoholic in the U.S. Army,” Gonzales said.
Doctors and military leaders eventually stepped in to provide Gonzales the help he needed. Gonzales advocates on behalf of those who are struggling through the Birdwell Foundation for PTSD.
“We’re going to be your first line of defense,” he said.
Gonzales stressed the importance of not fighting the life-changing battles alone, as isolation can lead to disaster and grief.
“I had a client who was part of my group therapy sessions and we couldn’t find him for two weeks. Authorities were called over to his house, they knocked on his house, but he wouldn’t answer. They eventually went into his closet where they found him with a gunshot wound to the head. He had taken his own life,” Gonzales said.
The U.S Department of Defense reported 156 deaths by suicide among military service members from October 1 to December 31 in 2020. That’s a 25% increase from the same time period in 2019.
The Birdwell Foundation has partnerships with a host of many other organizations to provide the necessary resources for not just veterans but anyone who is dealing with mental challenges.
One-on-one and group therapy meetings are held in person and over Zoom.
The Birdwell Foundation also has a 24/7 crisis hotline to assist those in need. The number is 830-822-2563.
“Let’s not just salute a veteran, let’s help a veteran,” Gonzales said.