Wisconsin Veteran Outreach Program Helps With Suicide Prevention

WISCONSIN—The Captain John D. Mason Veteran Peer Outreach Program is bringing the Gun Shop Project and Safe Storage Program to local communities across Wisconsin, according to a news release.

The program works with Wisconsin gun shops and ranges to provide two levels of support to the gun-owner community that address firearm suicides:

• Firearm safety: Gun shops will provide materials to customers and staff about suicide prevention and responsible firearm ownership developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), American Foundation on Suicide Prevention, and the VA.
• Firearm storage outside of the home: The gun shops will provide temporary safe storage of a firearm for a low fee. This service will assist individuals that are in a crisis to voluntarily store their firearm outside of the home.

parts of Wisconsin, the release said.

“Many people that die by suicide might be going through a divorce, job loss or missed promotion, or simply feeling hopeless in a dire moment,” Chris Swift, Veteran Peer Specialist with the Captain John D. Mason Veteran Peer Outreach Program said in a statement.

Swift is also a veteran.

a life.”

Interested gun shops and ranges can sign up to be listed as a member of the “Coalition of Veteran-friendly Gun Shops” on the Gun Shop Project and Safe Storage map atBeThereWis.com.