Tyrone Armed Forces Mission Receives Funding for Suicide Intervention Training

Palmetto, GA – September 17, 2013 – To help bring healing to local troops and veterans battling thoughts of suicide, the Coweta-Fayette EMC Trust, Inc. Board of Directors/Operation Round Up recently donated funds to Armed Forces Mission in Tyrone for 100 individuals to undergo Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, or ASIST.

The non-profit organization—with distinguished active and retired military members on its Board of Directors and Advisory Council—was founded in 2012 by Dr. Kenneth Koon, an Army Reserve Chaplain with a desire to rally all Americans to a greater awareness of the unique needs of military men and women. Specifically, Armed Forces Mission focuses on developing the Office of Suicide Intervention and Training to address the high rate of suicide within the active and veteran community.

According to Koon, Executive Director of Armed Forces Mission, he and others involved are motivated by the reality that while suicide is on the rise—there is one active duty suicide and as many as 22 veteran suicides every day—federal resources are getting smaller.

“The need for the Armed Forces Mission Office of Suicide Intervention is without question,” he said. “[Last year] saw the highest rates of suicide among our active duty military than in previous years . . . Making a difference is really a matter of total community effort.”

Armed Forces Mission seeks to “train ourselves and others to strengthen the resiliency of America’s Armed Forces, our veterans and our nation” by starting with some 20,000 veterans in Fayette and Coweta Counties. The ASIST program, a two-day workshop giving caregivers the skills to intervene for those hurting and battling despair, was developed to give life to that mission.

“Risk reduction begins with stigma reduction,” said Koon. “Those who struggle need to know they are not alone.”

Coweta-Fayette EMC CEO Anthony “Tony” Sinclair said Operation Round Up’s donation to Armed Forces Mission is one close to his heart. “Our military personnel deserve a community that rallies behind them in every way,” he said. “I believe in this organization and in our brave men and women who serve this great nation. They put their lives on the line for this country; helping them when they struggle is the least we can do.”

For those interested in registering for the next suicide intervention training workshop, please visit InterventionAdvocate.com.

Operation Round Up is a Coweta-Fayette EMC program that contributes more than $250,000 each year to worthy groups in the cooperative service area. These awards are made possible by voluntary contributions from EMC members whose monthly electric bills are “rounded up” to the nearest dollar. The difference between what is actually owed and the next highest dollar is placed in an interest-bearing account, and this money is managed through a separate board of directors, the Coweta-Fayette Trust.

Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 74,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether Counties.

Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round Up Coordinator Marsha McDaniel presents a check for suicide intervention training to Dr. Kenneth Koon, Executive Director of Armed Forces Mission in Tyrone.

Amy Lott