Letters for Life Reaches Out Across Sigonella

By MC3 Jacques Jean-Gilles NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

Suicide is always a tough topic to discuss, especially in the military where service members are expected to perform in high stress environments. According to the 2019 Annual Department of Defense (DoD) report, the overall rate of deaths by suicide across all branches of the military has increased over the past five years.

Here onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella, one Sailor spearheaded a new initiative to address this serious issue headon.

Letters for Life is a program started by Naval Air Crewman (Mechanical) 2nd Class Erin Videll, a department career counselor at NAS Sigonella’s operations department, to raise awareness and provide resources to those in need. Anonymous service members and members of the community send in letters of encouragement to Videll and her team, which are then placed in boxes around the base. Anyone can pick one up.

“Our target is anyone, from those who are having a bad day to those who really need help and resources,” said Videll.

Letters for Life was born through tragedy. “I had someone in my family pass away, and I wondered what I could do here at Sigonella,” Videll said. “I felt like I needed to do something, so I wrote a letter, and I wondered if I could get other people to do the same thing.”

Navy Chaplain Lt. Ryan Albano, a NAS Sigonella chaplain, helped facilitate Videll’s vision and echo her concerns to Sigonella leadership.

“Videll is a rock star,” said Albano. “She totally gets all the credit for coming up with this great idea and doing the majority of the leg work. My primary way of assisting Videll was amplifying her idea to the command and pulling together key stakeholders to make it become a reality. I continue to attend the meetings as often as possible, help decorate envelopes (although mine are not very good), proofread and prepare the letters, and then walk the spaces to check on each of our Letters for Life locations.”

Writing a letter is not the only way community members are involved; the letters are placed in envelopes decorated by service members, civilians, and even young children at the base Child Development Center.

The main purpose of Letters for Life to encourage those who may not reach out for help. Many people struggling with suicidal thoughts may not seek assistance, so the hope is that an anonymous letter may reach them in a time of need.

“There are many signs that someone might be struggling with thoughts of suicide, but sometimes people hide it really well,” said Albano. “Generally speaking, some of the signs are alcohol or drug abuse, carelessness, reckless behavior, making plans for the end (selling or giving precious things away), a person’s disposition seemingly spiraling down into sadness, and at its worst: hopelessness.” He added, “Those who recently experienced a traumatic loss, assault or abuse are at a much higher risk of suicide, as the world that once felt safe and familiar no longer feels the same.”

Each letter includes a resource card with contact information for the chapel, Fleet and Family Support Center, and the hospital on base, all of which offer unique forms of suicide help and intervention.

A popular resource, chaplains offer absolute confidentiality. “A person struggling with thoughts of suicide can speak with a chaplain, and if they don’t want that information to go anywhere it will stay between us and them,” said Albano. “We do not report anything whatsoever, and hold what is shared to us with the utmost confidence. We also regularly teach suicide intervention courses for free, and can even come to your work center and teach them on-site.”

Although it’s not easy to measure the success of Letters for Life, Videll believes it is making an impact.

“What matters to me is if the letters are disappearing or not—which they are,” said Videll. “That’s how we know we’re making a difference. It makes me feel good, and I’m happy that the community is coming together and getting behind this program.”

Other commands outside of Sigonella have even reached out to Videll to start similar programs at their respective locations, and she says she would love to see this program military-wide.

Letters for Life needs more letter writers, so if you would like to type a letter and contribute to their cause, you can an email it to sigonellal4l@eu.navy.mil.