Navigating mental health struggles can feel like an isolating journey, but you are not alone. Confronting the realities of suicide requires courage, compassion, and a commitment to breaking down the stigmas that keep people in the dark. Acknowledging this reality is the first step toward healing—a step that one training center recently took together as a crew.
During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Training Center Yorktown (TCY) hosted “Operation Not Alone,” a powerful event dedicated to suicide prevention. In partnership with the Coast Guard Foundation and local non-profits, TCY staff organized a gathering that featured moving testimonies from suicide survivors. The event created a space for members to connect in-person and learn how to support one another. To understand how other units might foster similar, open conversations about mental health, MyCG spoke with members of the TCY planning committee to gather their insights.
Work with leadership
Lt. Zechariah Reger and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO3) Melissa Allard emphasized that securing support from unit leadership is critical. Thanks to the dedication of their commanding officer (CO) and executive officer (XO), along with the director of the base mental health clinic, they were able to dedicate time for an all-hands attendance, ensuring the best possible attendance.
Meet people where they are
Close collaboration with command allowed Reger and Allard to orchestrate a crucial detail: the CO authorized all attendees to wear civilian clothing. This stripped away the traditional barriers of rank, ensuring participants saw each other as human beings outside of their uniforms. To maintain a network of visible support, Resilience Coordinators (RCs), Volunteer Victim Advocates (VVAs), and other members with specialized training wore color-coded t-shirts, easily identifying them as resources for their shipmates.
Equally important was the careful selection of speakers. By working with a local non-profit dedicated to military mental health, the planners identified speakers with Coast Guard experience. That experience positioned the speakers to address specific service-related fears—such as concerns about security clearances, the stigma of seeking help, and questions regarding mental health medications.
Encourage movement
Capt. Weeks, director of the TCY mental health clinic, offered a vital recommendation: incorporate movement into the event. To prevent the gathering from feeling like a standard, run-of-the-mill training session, participants were encouraged to move around. Physical activity helps keep attendees energized, mentally stimulated, and more deeply engaged with the heavy subject matter.
Provide tangible takeaways
“People need to leave [these events] with something,” Reger explained. Hosting an event is only part of the solution; attendees must also be equipped to act on what they’ve learned. To that end, TCY staff ensured every participant walked away with a custom coin featuring essential mental health resources — a physical reminder that help is always within reach.
Embrace the discomfort
Meaningful events often push people out of their comfort zones. Given the profound and sensitive nature of mental illness and suicide, conversations will naturally feel uncomfortable. But to learn and grow, Reger noted, “you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Allard vividly remembers the emotional weight of the day, recalling how her shipmates were moved to tears by the survivors’ stories. “It’s okay to talk about this,” she emphasized. “We’re going to share these stories because we need people to know that we are willing to listen.”
-USCG-
Resources:
In the News: