What happens when a community comes together to combat veteran suicide? In this episode, we welcome Henry Angulo, the Regional Programs Director for the Firewatch in South Florida, who shares the organization's profound mission and its grassroots approach to suicide prevention. Inspired by General Fleming, the Firewatch provides free suicide prevention training to turn participants into vigilant "watchstanders." Henry covers the expansive region from central Florida to Miami-Dade, dedicatedly conducting numerous monthly training sessions using the SAVE model—Signs, Ask, Validate, Expedite/Encourage.
Imagine transitioning from the disciplined life of the Marine Corps to the uncertainties of civilian life, only to face homelessness and mental health struggles. Henry recounts a deeply personal journey from dropping out of college to enlisting in the Marines, and the subsequent challenges of reintegration into society. This narrative underscores the importance of breaking the stigma around seeking help and highlights the vital role of veteran support services like the VA. It’s a testament to the shared struggles many veterans face and the strength found in reconnecting with their military identity.
Persistence pays off, whether you're attending AA meetings or navigating the VA system. We explore the critical message of not giving up, discussing the need for ongoing recovery efforts and regular VA appointments to stay connected within the system. Henry sheds light on the troubling increase in veteran suicides as revealed in the 2024 Firewatch report, emphasizing community involvement and training in creating veteran-safe spaces. Listeners are encouraged to participate in Firewatch training to build a robust support network, making a significant impact on reducing veteran suicides.
What happens when a community comes together to combat veteran suicide? In this episode, we welcome Henry Angulo, the Regional Programs Director for the Firewatch in South Florida, who shares the organization's profound mission and its grassroots approach to suicide prevention. Inspired by General Fleming, the Firewatch provides free suicide prevention training to turn participants into vigilant "watchstanders." Henry covers the expansive region from central Florida to Miami-Dade, dedicatedly conducting numerous monthly training sessions using the SAVE model—Signs, Ask, Validate, Expedite/Encourage.
Imagine transitioning from the disciplined life of the Marine Corps to the uncertainties of civilian life, only to face homelessness and mental health struggles. Henry recounts a deeply personal journey from dropping out of college to enlisting in the Marines, and the subsequent challenges of reintegration into society. This narrative underscores the importance of breaking the stigma around seeking help and highlights the vital role of veteran support services like the VA. It’s a testament to the shared struggles many veterans face and the strength found in reconnecting with their military identity.
Persistence pays off, whether you're attending AA meetings or navigating the VA system. We explore the critical message of not giving up, discussing the need for ongoing recovery efforts and regular VA appointments to stay connected within the system. Henry sheds light on the troubling increase in veteran suicides as revealed in the 2024 Firewatch report, emphasizing community involvement and training in creating veteran-safe spaces. Listeners are encouraged to participate in Firewatch training to build a robust support network, making a significant impact on reducing veteran suicides.
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Scott McLean. My guest today is Henry Angulo. Henry is the Regional Programs Director for the Firewatch in South Florida. The Firewatch is a non-profit that's an important part of Florida's fight against veteran suicide. How you doing, Henry?
Speaker 2:I'm doing well. Thank you for having me, Scott. Really appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1:You got it, buddy. Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2:Welcome to welcome to the kitchen studio very nice, very nice kitchen at that right thank you, nice kitchen studio.
Speaker 1:So for the people listening, I I usually cook lunch for my guests, so if you ever want to come on, you know that maybe that's incentive to come to the kitchen studio. Okay, I get a meal after this, so that's good, that's good not really, but maybe I'll edit that out. So, henry, tell us about the Firewatch mission and what they do.
Speaker 2:All right, the Firewatch is a veteran nonprofit that provides free veteran suicide prevention training to individuals and organizations in our state Actually, in our country, Anyone that wants to take our training can go to thefirewatchorg and take our training. It's about 30 minutes for veterans or active duty and it's about 40 minutes for civilians.
Speaker 2:You become a watchstander A watchstander we call them watchstanders. Yeah yeah, it's part of the Firewatch. For those of you military background, we are called the Firewatch because we do cover all 67 counties in the state of Florida and we are trying to get as many people involved as we can. Anyone that cares about veterans, anyone that has a veteran family member, anyone that just wants to get involved, can go to our website, thefirewatchorg, and complete the training and then, if they want more than that, they can reach out to us. How long has the Firewatch been around?
Speaker 2:The Firewatch started in 2019 in Northeast Florida, specifically around the Jacksonville area, composing of the five major counties that are in that area, and it was a product of General Fleming, and he's one of our founders.
Speaker 2:He was the adjutant general for the Florida National Guard, so after he retired, he saw that, and many of you may know the VA puts a lot of money into veteran suicide.
Speaker 2:Right, there's a big budget for veteran suicide prevention programs through the VA and things like that for as long as we can remember, right, early 2000s, but there really hasn't been a major decrease or a big curve in the numbers or the programs really haven't been making an impact in our community. So the general saw this and said okay, what can we do different? What is missing here? And the thing that he saw was well, we need to get the community involved and we need to make a program to where the common person, anyone, can make a difference, anyone can be involved, kind of like the CPR model. And that is why we follow the CPR model. We are trying to bring knowledge and awareness to the common person. So you don't have to be a clinician, you don't have to be a medical professional to really intervene or prevent someone from having suicide ideation or having mental health crises right and needing them to help.
Speaker 1:So this goes even beyond veterans, but you're veteran focused, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, so our program is based on the save training, which is signs, ask, validate, expedite or encourage to seek help. So it's based on that. So it's. Anyone can take that model and use it at any time for any crisis, no matter who they're dealing with. It doesn't have to be a veteran. Obviously, we are a veteran nonprofit so we keep it veteran-centric.
Speaker 1:And veteran suicide is a major crisis in our country still to this day and has been for the past 20 years, so that is why so you and I have run into each other more than a couple of times and doing outreach and we've always conversed and I know I realized you're a very busy man. How many trainings, say, a month, do you do?
Speaker 2:It varies. So in the busy months which are usually the beginning of the year I'm very busy, so I would say anywhere from six to 10 a month in the summer Now June, july, august it kind of winds down a little bit. So I go to like maybe three or four, but it's it's still continuous, and then towards the end of the year it kind of picks back up again.
Speaker 1:There's only four weeks in a month, sometimes double duty on the week, right?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:And you cover a lot of ground yourself. What's your from to?
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, so it expands from pretty much south of central Florida I also do the Space Coast, which is Brevard County, all the way south to Miami-Dade, and then the other, the West Coast as well, so Fort Myers, charlotte County, those counties over there on that side, so I kind of cover all those counties as well.
Speaker 1:So if you're not familiar with what he just said, go look at a map right, and I'm telling you, henry covers a lot of ground, a lot of ground and he does great work. Now, henry, like I said, we've met more than a couple of times. I see you as someone that's out there helping doing the good work and I had no idea about your past until you did the training for us at Herd Foundation. It's great training. By the way, I was telling Henry before the podcast that I had done the training and then I posted it on social media. And a guy that I know when I met him he was an airman with me at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, california. He reached out to me immediately and he said how can I get involved in this? How can I take that online certification? And it was amazing that he jumped right on it. So, henry, I know from you doing the training you kind of glossed over your past.
Speaker 2:Yes. So thank you first of all for attending the training and thank you for seeing the value in it. You know, hopefully more people do come to the training and see the value in it, because that's the most important thing to me as not only a facilitator of the training right my professional career but personally as a veteran. So I did about 12 years in the Marine Corps, active duty and some reserve. From what year to?
Speaker 1:what year?
Speaker 2:From 2004 to 16 was my last year, so I come from New Jersey was my last year, so I come from New Jersey. I'm a New Jersey kid, northeast kind of background, so to me the military wasn't something that was a priority. It wasn't something that my family members were in it or anything like that. You know, I'm Hispanic, I'm Latino, so also it wasn't something that obviously I'm very proud of and my family's very proud of, but it wasn't something that my mom was like, yes, you're going to go do this because that's what you do, so it wasn't something that was prevalent right In our community or in school or anything like that. Yeah, we had our recruiters, but they were more there for partying and because they were also young Recruiters.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. So not that recruiting the billing was very good. Thank you guys for what you guys do. Thank you for those recruiters listening right now. Very hard job, one of the hardest jobs in the corps, um. But so it wasn't something that I was like attracted to at first.
Speaker 2:It wasn't until I was flunking out of college that I was like hey, that's the next move exactly plan b yeah, yeah, it wasn't until then that I was like, okay, what am I gonna do here? So I decided to go into the Marine Corps just because they were like, we can get you in bootcamp next week, you know, and I didn't really know the difference between the branches, right, it wasn't like I was like, oh, I want to be an airman because they have all the money and all the. You know, you lived there, yeah.
Speaker 1:I lived there. That's right, buddy, exactly.
Speaker 2:You know all the comforts If I could do it again for sure, or the difference between you know the branches like that. So when I went into the recruiting office, it was just like, whoever was there, right? And I was like they were like, when do you want to go to boot camp Next week? Awesome Sign, right here. Boom, boom, boom, let's go.
Speaker 2:And I was out physical test there was no, nothing right, not prepared at all. So that's how I I got, I went in, went to paris island thankfully I, you know, passed everything that I had to, so I didn't stay longer, got out of that, joined the fleet marine corps, um, did a couple things with them and it, and then, and then I got out. You know, I out of active duty. I had, uh, I got married, had my kids, had a son first and my daughter. And once I got out of active probably 2011, 2010, 2011,. Then I started going to school using the GI Bill with the Florida Tech, graduated with a CSI degree, and I kind of put the Marine Corps and my active duty behind right. It wasn't something that I was like, okay, this is who I am, this is my identity, I'm going to. You know, this is what I'm going to portray from here on out. I was ready to move on, just like a lot of people. You know, when they transition out are, you know, trying to be like all right, this is who I was, but this is who I'm going to be from here.
Speaker 2:So I kind of shifted into my career field, did that for a couple of years, and it wasn't until I had some crisis moments, until my life kind of spiraled right. It wasn't until I was going through a divorce. I couldn't be in the house anymore. I was living in my car and with just my duffel bag. I went back to strip life and that's when I kind of had to reach back and be like all right, I'm a Marine, I can survive on my own right. I didn't need anyone. You don't want to be with me, fine, I'm out.
Speaker 2:But it wasn't until then that all of these other things started to come up right, things that I had been trying to get away from or not think about. It's funny how, when you're going through your crisis or when you're trying to get some more stability in your life, that's when all these other things that have happened to you in the past got to come up right. It's never an ideal time, right? Why didn't you come up when I was fine and I was in school and I could have dealt with all of this right. It wasn't until I was going through my you know kind of suffering that all these other things came up Murphy's Law, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
Speaker 2:Exactly, Exactly. I always think about when they say you know, misery loves company. There's a reason for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you had a lot of company.
Speaker 2:A lot of company at that time for sure. So, you know, I was by myself, living in my car, homeless, for a while, you know, and I didn't know where, where, who to turn to because, just like I said, coming from my background, it wasn't like I could just call my family, you know, and be like hey, I'm going through all this mental health stuff and now I'm living by myself and in my car in my car?
Speaker 2:yeah right, yeah, not going to work. You don't want to put that on them. Exactly, yeah, right, and they wouldn't understand, right, you know they wouldn't be a. Oh OK, you know what, come, come here and let's kind of talk about it. They would have judged me, you know, and the last thing I wanted was more judgment on top of your family, especially. Exactly, exactly, so. It wasn't like I could just reach out.
Speaker 2:So then one of my buddies, actually that I didn't serve with him, he was actually an airman. We went to school together. He was. He was like hey, why, why aren't you part of the VA? Like why it's so obvious, why would you not be part of the VA? You know, why wouldn't you go get, you know, help with somewhere to live? Why wouldn't you get help with mental health? Why wouldn't you get disability compensation? You obviously need it. So it wasn't until that that I was like let me, let me see, you know, cause I always had this other, you know the other side side, which was nothing's wrong with me, nothing's wrong with me physically I know exactly what you're talking about you know?
Speaker 2:yeah, nothing's wrong with me, others deserve it more. I said the same thing same. You know, I'm like. Others deserve it more, and a lot of veterans think the same way yes, you know yes they're like well, I, you know, I did what did, but I'm totally fine, I'm not missing any limbs, I can walk, I can drive.
Speaker 1:I had said how I looked at it was. I was saying kids like you right, because you were at the time and I was older they need that money more than me. And I never understood the concept of it and I would just kind of push myself out of it and say they need it more than me because you went through. You went through a war, right I? But little did I know. Yeah, so sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 2:No, no, please uh, you know, I really yeah um the.
Speaker 2:So it wasn't until then that I was like okay, let me walk into the local VA clinic and see, see what there is for me. And that's when the VA was actually very helpful to me. You know, I know a lot of veterans that have bad experiences. That wasn't my case, you know. Uh, the VA actually was like hey, yeah, go to our uh homeless outreach office, see what they can do for you. Here's how do you apply for your benefits and here is a mental health appointment that you can come to. Here's your primary care. Here's a peer support. They provided me a peer support person. I had no idea what that was Right. So the VA was very, very helpful to me at the time.
Speaker 2:So I started going to appointments, got better, kind of did all that, and I was still working in my IT field. But it wasn't until I kind of went through all that, started going to therapy and counseling and things like that, got on some medication. Then I saw a post about a veteran program that was being built in the county that I was living in and I was like, let me try it out, let me see what it's about. So I did the interview, got hired. They were like, oh yeah, we are looking for someone that has lived experience just like you to kind of help build our program.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and after that I got into the nonprofit world, did that for a couple of years, became a veteran advocate, sharing my story and sharing what you know, kind of like what I've been through and helping others kind of connect the same way you know. I'm like, hey, I had, this was my experience. I want everyone to have this same good experience. Get the goodness out of the VA. I know the VA sometimes gives a bad rap about being a government institution and sometimes not good care, but there's other times that you do get good care.
Speaker 1:So I say this to people and you experienced it. I experienced it. You hear the horror stories. You hear the other veterans tell, oh, this about the VA, oh, good luck with them, and yada, yada. And it can discourage a veteran from going to the VA, and it discouraged me until I went. So the way I look at it is like that's their story. And I say this that's their story. Don't make that your story. Write your own story. Go to the VA, see for yourself, be your own veteran, and go and see what they can give you. You're probably going to be pleasantly surprised.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally agree, I wholeheartedly agree.
Speaker 1:Same thing with me. Okay, you know what Appoint appointments get messed up sometimes. I've had that in the civilian world. Nothing in the va that has gone wrong and this podcast isn't. This episode isn't about promoting the va, but it's relevant to to your story, my story, exactly for sure. You go to the va and you'll find out that they're really there to help you and that whole culture, whatever it might have been in the past, it's turning. Yeah, it's really turning, and I had a great experience and they helped me immensely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I always tell people, or when I speak to other veterans or really anyone, if you go to one VA, you've been to that one VA you have, you know, don't you know, put everyone in that same. You know, if I could bet you that if I would have gone to the VA in New Jersey, totally different experience. You know, because I've known people that have gone to the VA up there and they're like what is this right? Or another VA somewhere else, it could have been a totally different experience. So if you go to one VA, you go to that one VA. Do not give up on the whole system.
Speaker 1:So I'm a recovering alcoholic and I'm very versed at AA meetings. But I had to learn and it's the same thing with the VA you go to an AA meeting If you don't like that meeting, because they're not all the same. Some AA meetings are hardcore, some are very soft. There's a lot of varieties of AA meetings. If you don't like that one, go to another one and compare them and then, if you don't like, go to another one. They're all different and VAs are the same way. If you had a bad experience at one, find another one. That might not be that easy, but if it's there, find it For sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't judge, like you said, one VA visit on. Oh, that's the way they are.
Speaker 2:That's the way they are All are 100% and I'm never going back Like don't do that Right. It's a disservice not only to yourself, because you wouldn't get the care you need or you want Good point.
Speaker 2:But it's also a disservice to the people you're going to interact with, the people you're going to tell, yeah, because, as we know, we all have our own networks, we all have our own circles. So if that one person has a bad experience and decides to never go back, then he's going to tell everyone around him I'm never going back there. So then it kind of discourages everybody else. So I always tell people you're not going to have the same experience as everyone else. You're going to have your own experience. Right, you might go to a department that is awesome, you know they take care of you completely, and then you might go to another department in the same ba building that are totally like put off and you don't want to go back it happens, it happens so yeah, I totally.
Speaker 2:I always tell people, I encourage them to go. At least do your one annual appointment if you don't want to go back. You have your own insurance. You don't want to interact with them totally understandable. But at least do your once a year appointment to stay in the system, because you never know when you'll need them. Yeah, we all get old, we all, you know. Uh, things happen, you never know. So it's always a good, a good option exactly, especially if you've earned the right to get va care that was a that was a very uh uh strong point.
Speaker 1:When I interviewed the legal aid society they really pushed that, yeah, like they were very uh opinionated about go get it, it's yours, you earned it yeah, go get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that was something that I, like I said before I had to learn I did too, because I was always like why, why am I, you know, going there?
Speaker 2:because you know there's so many, especially when it came to the benefit side. Right, we talked about the health care side, but we're talking about the benefit side now. Right, like why would I apply for disability compensation where there's really nothing wrong with me physically? I can do things, you know, if I have a headache, if my back hurts, I could suck it up and just go right. But it's not about that, it's not the case.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly, so for sure, so you not the case. Exactly exactly so for sure, so you got on with firewatch.
Speaker 2:You, you lifted yourself up and you won. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, you beat it as a victory for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you beat it yeah, right, you beat those demons that were the haunt. You beat the homelessness.
Speaker 2:Yeah and yeah even though it's it's um what I, what I tell people when I, especially if I tell them. I don't tell everyone my story, but if I do. I always tell people it's a good story. Oh, thank you, it really is.
Speaker 2:I hope it's inspirational it is inspirational for people that are maybe going through it. Yes, see themselves in it, see it. Yes, you, everybody can pick up. You know, and, and, and do better, right, have a better tomorrow. Um, what I usually tell people is that it's a journey right there. There isn't going to come a day when you're like I'm over it, it's completely done, I am totally fine now.
Speaker 1:I don't need all these other things. It's a journey right.
Speaker 2:Some days are darker than others. It's a wave comes and goes, so it's all about how to live with it, how to move forward with it, how to be content in your life and also be sometimes not content and accepting Exactly, exactly. So. It's always a journey. So, for those that may be going through it and think like, oh, I'm never going to recover, I'm never going to get, it's a journey, you know, day to day, and we all were on the same boat.
Speaker 1:Now the fire watch has a lot of data. They do a lot of data collecting right on the veteran suicide rates. Yeah. In the state of Florida.
Speaker 2:Correct yeah One thing that differs our data from the national data that the big VA puts out right, the department of VA puts out is that we're a state program, so we collect state numbers and then we break it down to county numbers as well. So if you go on the firewatchorg backslash data, you'll be able to click on your County, or even whatever County you want to look at, and it'll give you the stats. When it comes to veteran suicide, you know, we we break it down by mode of death, we break it down by race, we break it down by gender, um, so you can look at the numbers and see, you know, what's going on in your county it also part of the training it's.
Speaker 1:It shows us data yeah about. You know what's going on in what particular areas like you, just only breaks it down.
Speaker 2:Yeah I definitely when I facilitate it. I like people to see.
Speaker 1:That's effective.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you. That's effective For people to see what's going on in their community and then hopefully, by joining, you know, by saying hey, yeah, I want to be a solution to this right. I want to spread the word beyond me, just getting this training implemented and put it towards others. Hopefully they're able to get see that data and make an impact.
Speaker 1:It's kind of a weird question, but there's good data and there's bad data, right and meaning outcomes. So what, right now, is the bad data that's out there about veteran suicide?
Speaker 2:So our 2024 report just came out for the Firewatch, which reflects the 2022 numbers, so we're about two years behind when it comes to data collection on veteran suicide.
Speaker 2:Usually that's how we move in, the same thing that the VA does. They put out the report at the end of the year September, november timeframe, anyway. So the the numbers that are reflecting now is that there has been a spike from the 2021 numbers to 2022 numbers. Um 2021, the state had 611 veteran suicides and I want to say 2022, we ended up with 655. Yeah, altogether.
Speaker 2:And now again, just like I say in the training, this is looking at veterans and mode of death suicide, right, not to include everything else in between that. You know, we all kind of know what happens in between that. But this is just looking at straight data with those two data sets. So there has been an increase in that. And also, part of that, a couple of counties where we are targeting you know that have a high veteran population has also increased. You know, one of those being Palm Beach County. Palm Beach ended up with, I want to say, 37 veterans suicides in the year of 2022, which is an increase from 2021.
Speaker 2:So what we're trying to do is we're trying to target these counties more. We're trying to get more involvement, part of that. The same thing we do is provide more training. Right, as we provide more training. The thing that I do and I take it as a personal goal is make more connections Right, connect more veterans to services. If there's not the VA, then there's, like you said, a plethora of nonprofits out there that also help. So we're trying to make more connection to those veterans that may not be connected at all to hopefully bring those numbers down.
Speaker 2:You know our program isn't only for nonprofits or for veteran centric services, right, we provide this training for everyone across the board. You know, I did a technology company down in Broward County a couple of months ago, you know, and they're a huge national company, they're a for-profit. They work in technology. They were just interested in having the training they brought me on. We had a huge conference call with a couple people present, so they had a great turnout. People were involved. A lot of non-veterans were there and I believe non-veterans, or people that aren't part of our community, get more out of our training than actual veterans do. They get more because they're more curious, they ask more questions, they get more out of it and those are the ones we're trying to reach.
Speaker 1:And the training is how much Free? Say that again Free, free, it's free, free Like that. Commercial free, free, free. The training is free, it is free, it is free, free, like that commercial, free, free, free.
Speaker 2:The training is free, it is free, it is free. And we're trying to keep it free, you know, for as long as we can and trying to get everyone involved. Like I said, it doesn't have to be a veteran or a veteran centric organization, it could be anyone Like. Just like I said before, they're trying to get the 90% trained to take care of the 10%, which is 10% of the veterans in our population.
Speaker 1:So how can the listeners get involved in this?
Speaker 2:First, take the training right. Thefirewatchorg Anyone can go on there, click on watchstander. You can go on there, click on watch standard, and then you either take the active duty veteran path to the 30 minute training or the civilian, which is the 40 minute training. The difference between that is that there's a little bit of veteran culture, you know, like the 15 things that you saw on there. Yes, so we show that. You know, with the civilian training, okay, yeah, so they get a little bit of veteran culture added to it. And then we go into the SAVE program that we talked about earlier. So everybody kind of gets that training. And once they complete that, then if they want their organization or their group even if it's like a social group, right, a group of veterans that get together and they say, hey, we want to take this training in person they reach out to me on our website and then we set a date quick and easy. I come to them, I bring everything with me, everything is provided and we just set it up and it's quick and easy.
Speaker 1:Like our friend Jonathan Oakley said low hanging fruit. Exactly.
Speaker 2:I always thank you, Jonathan, for that quote, and I always use it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's there. It's there, it's free, it's not a bad thing. And the commitment you know it's like you do it and then it's not like we have a commitment to you, like, okay, we have a follow-up, you'll follow up with the organizations if there's updates or anything like that, right?
Speaker 2:Correct, correct. Yeah, there isn't Like the only commitment that I would say would be the time the time you know people have to put in the time, either online you know 30, 45 minutes or in person. When I facilitate it it could be up to an hour. But that's about it, you know, putting in the time to actually take the training.
Speaker 1:So once you train a group, nonprofit or any type of business or anybody that wants you training, what's the designation they get?
Speaker 2:So 50% of the organization's staff or members or volunteers whoever they are composed of, 50% of them do the pledge, which would make them what we call a watchstander, what we said earlier.
Speaker 2:Then they get the designated veteran safe place, which would make them what we call a watchstander, what we said earlier.
Speaker 2:Then they get the designated veteran safe place, which comes with a certificate. We put them on our website, we promote them to the community and letting them know that this, the staff of this organization or members, care enough about veterans and veteran issues to step off the sidelines and actually do something, which is take this training and put in the time for the training, right, and to become a veteran safe place, yeah. And then from there on, it's just about spreading the word right, communicating about the training, actually putting it into use you know, when they have veterans that come in or veterans that they interact with, um, and actually putting it out there, saying, hey, we're a veteran safe place, so it doesn't mean that we're going to get flooded by veterans in crisis, right, right, because a lot of people have may have that notion. Good point, but it's not. It's all. It's just about saying that hey, we've been trained and we kind of understand what veteran culture is and how to connect someone to help.
Speaker 1:So there's like the six degrees of separation. So this organization, this nonprofit that might you know, they give widgets away, right, as they say, they always use widgets, right. Is that somebody in that organization might have a relative that's a veteran or a friend of a friend who's a veteran, who this training that they take from the fire watch comes in handy.
Speaker 2:We want the people that take our training to not only use it professionally right in their professional setting, but also personally, right, because this is something that, just like we said before, it's veteran-centric but really applies to everyone across the board. Anyone, anyone, can take the training. There's no quiz or anything at the end, you can attest to that.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, that's what you have to tell people. That's it. You have to stress it. Okay, okay, that's what you have to tell people.
Speaker 2:You have to stress it, because we're all like hey is there a test that let's take some notes on this, right? Yes no, yes no. We try to make it simple, right? We try to make it basic so that people understand it.
Speaker 1:But effective Effective.
Speaker 2:It's simple and effective.
Speaker 1:It really is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so people can take it with with them, take the information and apply it. Um, and our organization is composed of five veterans. Uh, we are only five people covering the whole state.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh see, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Yes, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wow, yeah, yeah, there's only five staff members in the fire watch and we are, you know, covering every county in the state. But us, us being veterans, you know, as veterans serving veterans, for a veteran cause yeah, right, yeah, that's beautiful so we definitely all of us take it to heart.
Speaker 2:You know, we want to make that difference and if we can change, or we, if we can get one person to interact in a crisis moment and lead that person to help or, you know, lead that person to a better place, our job is pretty much worth it. That is what we're trying to do Again.
Speaker 1:I want people to really go look at a map of Florida. It's on our website, it's on their website and what's the website? Thefirewatchorg? And just know, there's only five people doing this for the whole state of Florida. My man, that blew me away just then. That's amazing. God bless you guys, man and ladies, whoever's doing it, god bless the Firewatch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you Wow. Yes, yes, we are trying and again, it's a heart's mission. It is something that we believe in, something that we stand behind. Like I said, god put me in this position, really, to kind of like it just fell into it, and I feel like this is something that is fulfilling, not only personally, but if we can save one person, then we're good.
Speaker 1:Everything for a reason. I said that Herd Foundation came're good, everything for a reason exactly. I said that you know herd foundation came into my life for a reason there you go. I waited to go to the va. I waited away, everything for a reason. There you go. You know you fell into that and it's beautiful and you're doing amazing work. I cannot stress enough get this Low-hanging fruit, it's free. Go to the website. Give them money that too, we are a 501c3.
Speaker 2:Give them money and we accept donations right on our website.
Speaker 1:Yes, and the amount of work, and I okay again. Prior to this recording, we had a conversation and so when you bought your car, it had 20,000 miles on it, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:I listen to everything, buddy. I hear it all. I'm weaving it in yes, yes, how many miles are on your car?
Speaker 2:now I just hit 98,000 miles. Yeah, yeah, I've had it for probably a year and a half A year and a half 98,000 miles.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, yeah, I've had it for, uh, probably a year and a half a year and a half, 98 000 miles, so you put 78 000 miles on that car in a year and a half. Yeah, people listen to that. If that's not dedication to a cause and a love for a cause, then I don't know. I mean, okay, there might be something bigger and better than that, but that's amazing. Thank you, and you just hit the road.
Speaker 2:You hit the road, anyone that reaches out. You know I try to take advantage of the opportunity that they're providing me, not only for me but for the veterans that they may reach, you know. So I take full advantage and, like I said, I come to them, make it as easy as we can for them to get this training, for them to spread the word, and that's our mission.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I'm on board with you, buddy. Thank you. I'm a big fan, you and the 22 Project. I'm not singling anybody out. I make it well known that I'm still fascinated by 22 Project and what they do. But you guys are right up there, man. Five of you, yes, just five of us. God bless you, man. Well, henry, thank you very much for coming down to the kitchen studio.
Speaker 2:Hey, thank you for having me, put those miles on your car to get down here and then you're off to Miami. After this right, yes, down south after this Most people like.
Speaker 1:This is their day. They can no, no, not the fire watch. No, Not Henry, no, there's a job to be done.
Speaker 2:There is Right. Exactly Like I said, as long as they give me the opportunity, I am there. So we got to spread the word. And the last thing, that I thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so whatever you want, buddy.
Speaker 2:The last thing is that you know a lot of people say, you know, thank you for your service. Or when they encounter a veteran, they say, hey, thank you for what you did. The best way to say thank you would be to take some of this training. You know, make an impact, make a difference, yeah. And then if you encounter a veteran because Florida has the third highest population of veterans in the state, in our country, in the country yeah. So if you encounter someone, then you have this training in your back pocket and you can say, hey, I just took this training. Here's some resources that can maybe help you out Thefirewatchorg. Everything is on our website. Please visit, take the training and please reach out if there's any questions or anything like that.
Speaker 1:All right, henry, well. Again, thank you for coming down here, thank you for coming on the podcast. This is a very, very informative, great discussion and I'm sure you'll be back because I'm going to do like six month updates.
Speaker 2:Excellent. So where are we at? Looking forward to it and hopefully stats go down. Yeah, definitely Hopefully we have some updates and we can do that, but thank you for having me again. Thank you for setting this up and I really appreciate the time. Thank you to the listeners who are listening to this, for sure, thank you, and thank you for making a difference in what you're doing as well. I'm trying.
Speaker 1:I'm trying, Like you. We can only try.
Speaker 2:That's all we can do, but thank you for the efforts that you're putting in in our community as a whole. For sure you got it.
Speaker 1:Well, with that, we built another bridge today. If you like this, share it. If you're watching on YouTube, hit the subscribe button, although YouTube is just a version of the podcast, but some people choose that platform. So, again, if you like it, share it. If you want to get in touch with the podcast, get in touch with me vetsconnectionpodcast at gmailcom and, as I always say, you'll hear me next monday.