TAMPA, Fla. – The month of June is veteran suicide and PTSD Awareness Month.

According to the National institutes of Health and the most recent data from the VA’s National Suicide Prevention report, as many as 500,000 U.S. Troops that served over the past 13 years have been diagnosed with PTSD and 6,200 veterans take their own lives each year.


What You Need To Know

  • June is veteran suicide and PTSD Awareness Month

  • 6,200 veterans take their own lives every year

  • For more information on the clinics, visit https://sofmissions.org/

This August will mark one year since the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. 

One Tampa nonprofit is working to heal the scars of service through whole-health and collaborative care. 

“These are my boys. We were a special forces team, and we were conducting operations on the border of Syria,” said retired Air Force Lt. Col Dr. Damon Friedman as he looked at old photos in his office.

He served within Air Force special operations.

“I’ve been serving my country for about 20 years. It started in 2000 and I was a part of the invasion in 2003, so this is at the height of the war,” he said.

For service during his combat tour, he received three Bronze Stars, including one with valor, but was also left with the physical and mental scars of sacrifice. 

“For me personally, multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, I’ve experienced enough post-traumatic stress and I understand intimately the disorder. It’s a serious issue,” he said.

During a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011, he got an idea to start his own nonprofit, SOF Missions.

So far, the organization has provided more than $5 million in care to thousands of veterans.

A major part of his organization are the Be Resilient Clinics. The five-day intensive clinics take place in a resort setting and are free.

Service members work with work with a large team of different healthvcare providers.

The next clinic is this August, one year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“We saw this closure in Afghanistan. It’s a debacle, it’s a disappointment. It was a big trigger then and it still continues to be a trigger now for a lot of our combat veterans that spilled blood overseas. I understand the pain, the agony, and myself I’m just as disappointed, but it’s important to stay focused on taking care of them,” Dr. Friedman said.

After completing the clinic, veterans receive collaborative care with health professionals for up to year in their hometowns. 

“We’re excited to journey with you. I know it’s been dark, I know it’s been hard, but we can get through this. There is hope,” he said.

For more information on the clinics: https://sofmissions.org/