Event To Bring Awareness To Veteran Mental Health And Suicide Prevention

A Silent Watch will be held in front of the Hancock County Courthouse in honor of a local Veteran who took their life and to bring awareness to how many Veterans suffer from PTSD and die by suicide.

The event will be hosted by Allen-Kramp Wealth Management in honor and memory of their friend Gaven Smith and his fellow fallen.

At last year’s event we spoke with Rodney Kramp and Leah Cook and you can see that video below.

Every day, 22 Veterans take their own life, and on Thursday, September 7th from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. friends, colleagues and strangers will stand in Silent Watch for 22 minutes at a time to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder and to show Veterans they don’t fight alone.

A flag-draped casket will honorably be carried from the backside of the Hancock County Courthouse to the front sidewalk by Veteran and active-duty military and set in place at 7 a.m.

Opening ceremonies will begin promptly with volunteers showing support by standing guard and changing out every 22 minutes.

This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

The Hancock County Veteran Service Office will be in attendance with mental health support information.