FORGE FOUNDATION INC

ABOUT:
Every day, we lose more than 20 veterans and service members military to suicide. More active duty service members die from suicide than they do in combat.

The Overwatch Project is coming at veteran and military suicide prevention from a new direction, using an approach that helped solve another complex problem: drunk driving. The Overwatch Project is building the equivalent of the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign for veterans, only instead of talking about alcohol and vehicles, we are focused on guns and suicide.

The topic of guns and suicide is uncomfortable, and that stigma is costing lives. The Overwatch Project breaks through this stigma to create new norms on suicide prevention by transforming the conversation about firearms and suicide risk. We empower veterans, service members, and those who care about them with new ways to save lives, through comprehensive training, outreach and engagement programs crafted in a blunt, authentic veteran voice.

We will directly train 25,000+ service members and veterans in 2024, and reach tens of thousands more through outreach and educational initiatives. The Overwatch Project was selected as a third-place winner in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs #MissionDaybreak Innovation Challenge, which received more than 1,300 submissions from entities that included health tech companies, VSOs, startups and universities.

THE PROBLEM: GUNS + SUICIDE = COMPLICATED CONVERSATION

Fact: 70% of veteran and military suicides are with firearms.

Suicide is often impulsive: Half of people who attempt suicide and survive say they thought about it for 10 minutes or less. Research has shown that putting time and distance between a person in crisis and the deadliest suicide methods saves lives, a practice known in clinical circles as “lethal means safety.” Firearms are deadlier than all other methods combined.

In the field of suicide prevention research, the evidence shows that lethal means safety is the single most powerful tool we have in the fight against suicide. By normalizing the conversation about firearms and suicide, we will have dramatic impact on suicide in the military and veteran community – and in America as a whole.

THE OVERWATCH PROJECT SOLUTION:
In America, guns are a tricky topic, and even trickier still when it comes to talking about suicide.

That’s where the Overwatch Project comes in. We’re bringing the conversation about firearms and suicide into an area where service members and veterans feel trust: their relationship with their peers. We empower veterans and service members to intervene with at-risk buddies, asking to temporarily hold onto their firearms or take protective storage measures – before it’s too late. We also build proactive norms, so that veterans, service members and their families develop plans prior to a rock-bottom crisis. The Overwatch Project is the marquee program of FORGE, a national 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to ending military and veteran suicide.

We will train 25K service members and veterans in FY24. We have worked with 50+ veteran service organizations (VSOs) and currently have several active and growing military initiatives, including a multi-year project with the Army and training partnerships with multiple state National Guards.