Cover Me Inc

We are losing too many Veterans to suicide, and we believe that we have a novel idea that might make an individual THINK TWICE about ending his or her life.We know that temporarily reducing access to firearms is an important way to minimize the risk when someone is experiencing chronic suicidal thoughts. However, members of the Veteran population often view their firearms as an important part of their culture, identity, and safety. Often, they do not want to hand their firearms to someone for safekeeping during these times, and frequently will not agree to place a lock on them, as it potentially makes them more difficult to use if needed emergently. Given this reality , we believe that it is imperative to develop a way to intervene when one has intent to harm him- or herself and has a firearm within reach.Mental health professionals have developed a variety of important methods to try to decrease suicide attempts and completions (contracting with patients that they will not harm themselves, providing suicide hotline numbers, recommending that individuals call their mental health provider or go to a local emergency room if experiencing suicidal thoughts, and developing a “safety plan," which outlines what to do to distract oneself from suicidal thoughts). All of these efforts are important and essential in their own right, and should not change. However, when impulsively considering suicide, individuals may not be open to calling someone, reporting to a local ER, or consulting his or her safety plan.We believe that an individual might THINK TWICE about ending his or her life if prompted to look at an image of the thing or things in his or her life that matter most to them (their spouse, children, parents, pet, battle buddies, or a religious icon). Looking at one of these images is likely an effective way to intervene at this crucial and incredibly dangerous time.Cover Me Veterans™ will provide service members with the opportunity to have a relevant and meaningful image placed on their firearm free of charge. We also aim to bring visibility to our logo, with the hope that the logo, itself, will be associated with our mission and the act of thinking twice. Display of the logo, therefore, may be 1) to help the Veteran if he or she is struggling with suicidal thoughts, or 2) simply a display of support for this important mission. Therefore, it has the POTENTIAL TO CUT THROUGH STIGMA and SAVE LIVES at the same time.