Trucking industry raising awareness of veteran suicide rates

The trucking industry often bands together to participate in charitable action. From toy drives around the holidays, to participating in programs to raise awareness on illnesses, those who work in trucking are consistently attempting to better the lives of others.

And now, a trucking group committed to fitness for truckers, will host a challenge to raise awareness on the number of U.S. military veterans that commit suicide. The group, Fit to Pass, has organized a push-up challenge to take place during the month of November, as reported by The Trucker.

Fit to Pass has committed themselves to raising awareness on this topic. They released data that reflected how at risk for suicide veterans can be. The data showed that veterans are 57% more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans. This can be attributed to the stress and trauma veterans experience while they are active duty. Being placed in highly dangerous situations in foreign environments without family nearby can cause military service members to experience severe mental health illness. Even when they are removed from these situations and are back home, veterans trying to cope with those traumatizing experiences may struggle.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs provides care and support for veterans once they get back home. They report that every day, a total of 22 veterans commit suicide.

Fit to Pass decided to raise awareness of these high rates of veteran suicide in an attempt to offer people information on the topic, including motivating veterans to seek help for mental health.

The challenge includes doing 22 pushups each day for 22 days of November. This directly relates to the statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide each day.

“As we know, many professional drivers are veterans, and we challenge you to join us,” a Fit to Pass news release stated.