by Michael Abramovich

On Sunday I participated in the VEThack march to end veteran suicide for my second year in the row. This march was going on right around the NYC Veterans Alliance’s first birthday (also my one year anniversary of being an Alliance member).  The march began at Columbus Circle as last year and the route was 3.6 miles and ended at the NYPD’s 20^th Precinct HQ where there was a BBQ, followed by a Pub Crawl.

Overall I feel the Vethack march was well organized and it was great chance to build stronger bonds with NYC area veteran community. The weather was beautiful and I was in great company of our awesome NYC veteran family. I was honored to wear my NYC Veterans Alliance t-shirt and continue raising visibility for an organization that does so much for our NYC veterans on the local level. The NYPD being there to assist with traffic control and their support was very welcome. I’m very thankful for the 20^th’ Precinct’s hospitality and their company.  

The march was a great way to raise awareness and visibility for veteran/military suicides which number 20 a day. While that number is a drop from 22 a day, 20 veterans committing suicides every day is still a scary number and it only means for veteran activists like myself that our work is far from over. We need to continue working with experts, professionals, and our elected leadership on a solution that puts an end to this dangerous epidemic. We need to keep working till military/veteran suicides are a thing of the past.

See our photos from the March: