When thoughts of suicide overwhelmed Army Veteran Jeremy Ruspantine, he had no layers of protection and no one from his support network between him and his lethal means. He intended to end his life that day, had immediate access to his prescription drugs and, instead of reaching out, took the whole bottle of pills<\/p>\n
Coming out of homelessness in 2020, going through inpatient care at the Coatesville VA Medical Center<\/a> and making use of the available support services, things were coming together for him, until they weren\u2019t. The post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that Ruspantine had been experiencing since a deployment in 2008 began to \u201cevolve\u201d in 2022 in a way that disrupted the life he was rebuilding.\u00a0<\/p>\n The relationship he was in ended, he lost his position in the volunteer organization that he enjoyed, and he withdrew from his college courses. \u201cIt seemed like everything was falling apart,\u201d Ruspantine shared. \u201cI was in the wrong frame of mind, and I was not using my support network.\u201d<\/p>\n Lethal means are\u00a0items like firearms, sharp objects, cords and drugs that can be used to harm yourself. Veterans are far more likely to use firearms than any other method.<\/p>\n One reason many Veterans who have acted on their suicidal impulses are not with us today is that they lacked layers of protection between them and their lethal means, leaving them less time to pause, think clearly and stay safe in a moment of suicidal crisis.<\/p>\n A simple device like a gun lock or a combination safe will securely store a person\u2019s lethal means and create time and space between the suicidal impulse and the action. These added layers of protection reduce suicide risk and save Veterans\u2019 lives by increasing the time between a person having suicidal thoughts and them accessing their lethal means.<\/p>\n \u201cMy support network knew something was wrong. For some reason, my mom called me, and I don\u2019t know if I answered, but she knew, and my roommate at the time knew something was up. And I know that the police came. I\u2019m here today because my mother, my roommate, and [my neighbor] were all there for me when I was in crisis,\u201d Ruspantine said.<\/p>\n At that time, he and his support network didn\u2019t know that Coatesville VA would provide gun locks and combination safes for free.<\/p>\n Although Ruspantine cannot clearly remember the details of the night he overdosed on medications, he is sure of one thing. \u201cI was not in the right state of mind, so I would not be able to put in the combination to a safe,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n It turns out that, when a person experiencing a suicidal crisis can\u2019t access the method they planned to use, they are not likely to seek out an alternate method. Ruspantine may have avoided overdosing while in crisis by storing his medications in a combination safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Learn more about securely storing firearms<\/a> and compare the benefits between gun cables, gun locks and combination gun safes.<\/p>\nAccess to lethal means<\/h2>\n
Layering protection with support<\/h2>\n