Together With Hill Country Veterans: 40 suicides a year in the Hill Country, and a general who says lean in
Oates urged residents not to brush past warning signs. In men, anger is frequently a clinical indicator of depression. An abnormal reaction to a normal event warrants a direct conversation.
Lt. Gen. Michael Oates spent decades in the United States Army. He knows what trauma does to people — and he knows it does not do the same thing to everyone.
“Each of us is set differently,” he said Monday on Lead Live, describing PTSD as a rheostat rather than a switch. “There are people that can experience a significant amount of trauma and have no impact to their life at all. And there’s some that experience very little that has a significant impact on them behaviorally.”
Oates appeared alongside Leslie North, a retired Air Force weather forecaster who coordinates Together With Hill Country Veterans’ direct assistance program. The organization focuses on two things: raising community awareness about veteran suicide, and deploying rapid financial support to veterans facing immediate, concrete crises.
The numbers are sobering. The Hill Country loses an average of 40 residents to suicide annually. Each loss statistically affects 120 people — meaning roughly 4,800 community members are touched by suicide in this region every year.
Oates urged residents not to brush past warning signs. In men, anger is frequently a clinical indicator of depression. An abnormal reaction to a normal event warrants a direct conversation.
“Don’t pass that by,” he said. “Lean into that. Ask them probing questions. What’s going on with you?”
North coordinates the organization’s direct assistance program — rapid deployment of emergency funds targeting what she called “insurmountable” lifestyle obstacles before they spiral: utility bills, groceries, vehicle repairs so veterans can keep their jobs, professional certification fees, and temporary lodging. After the July flood, the program helped an older veteran who lost his RV find temporary hotel accommodations. Funds can be deployed within three to four days.
“Mike always tells me if you can throw money at it, it’s not really a problem,” North said. “Housing, transportation, health insurance, groceries — real ordinary things.”
September is Suicide Prevention Month. On Sept. 11, the organization hosts a memorial program at 5 p.m. at the Schreiner University Trailhead Beer Garden, featuring guest speaker Schreiner University President Charlie McCormick, food trucks, and a live band at 7 p.m. Memorial signs bearing the faces of local veterans lost to suicide will be displayed.
“The only effective antidote, if there is one, is individuals leaning in on each other,” Oates said.
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