LOCAL BREW PREVENTS VETERAN SUICIDES

Veterans United and The Fire Watch Partner

By Bob Buehn

Jacksonville’s own Veterans United (VU) Craft Brewery is supporting The Fire Watch’s fight to end Veteran suicide with a special new brew called WatchStander IPA.

The Fire Watch’s goal is to build an early intervention network of 10,000 “Watch Standers” in Northeast Florida. The Veteran-owned and operated Veterans United recently introduced the New England-style WatchStander IPA. Each pint will be served with a unique coaster containing a QR code linked to the Watch Stander registration page.

The Watch Stander program is available to everyone in the Northeast Florida community. It takes just 30 seconds to enroll and 30 minutes to train.

Those who complete the training and sign a pledge to be vigilant to the concerns of Veterans receive a Watch Stander certificate, a wrist band, a car sticker, and a wallet card. The wallet card is to remind them how to take action when they encounter a Veteran in need. Volunteers are trained to identify risk factors of Veterans in crisis and to direct those Veterans to the help and resources they need.

Nick Howland is a Navy Veteran and executive director of The Fire Watch. He said his goal is to train 10,000 Watch Standers by the end of 2022. The most recent data, from 2018, shows more than 6,000 Veterans committed suicide that year.

“The more out there that are trained as Watch Standers, the more Veterans we can prevent from slipping into suicidal ideation,” Howland said.

Ron Gamble is the founder, president and brewmaster at Veterans United. He’s also a Navy Veteran. He collaborated with Howland to create the WatchStander IPA, named after the signature program of The Fire Watch.

The idea of pairing beer with suicide prevention may seem surprising, but at Veterans United, they are training their employees to be Watch Standers ready to help Veterans who come in and seem to be in need.

“We’ve been working with [The Fire Watch] about getting our staff trained and certified as Watch Standers. In our taproom, we have found that Veterans are more willing to openly discuss their feelings and experiences with others over a beer,” Gamble said. “If we could be that one step closer to helping them out, it is a great thing.”

Businesses like VU Brew that train their employees will be deemed a Veteran safe space by The Fire Watch.

“It’s mobilizing a community force of Veterans and civilians who can be trained to identify those risk signs, ask a Veteran if they need help, and get them to the plethora of resources we have here in Northeast Florida for Veterans,” Howland said.

To become a Watch Stander, please visit TheFireWatch.org/Watch-Standers or scan the QR code on the coasters served with the new IPA. To learn more about Veterans United Craft Brewery, please visit VUBrew.com.