An event to raise awareness about veteran suicide and provide resources to Delaware’s military community is next weekend.
Vet Fest returns for a 7th year Saturday, September 24, 2022 in the Town of Whitehall in Middletown.
“Vet Fest is a day where we gather both the military and civilian communities together to do a couple of things," said Brian DiSabatino, one of the organizers of Vet Fest. "Number one, we help the civilian community understand the needs of the sacrifices of their neighbors who are serving in the military. And we help our military understand that there is a big civilian community there to support them.”
DiSabatino notes that Vet Fest is also raising funds to build awareness about veteran suicide for the North Carolina-based nonprofit Stop Solider Suicide.
According to a 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention report, there were 6,261 veteran suicide deaths in 2019 - a decrease of about 400 from 2018.
But the report also showed firearms were more often involved in veteran suicides in 2019 than in 2018. And more veteran men than women took their own lives using a firearm in 2019.
Vet Fest runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m next Saturday and DiSabatino says there's a full schedule of events.
"We’ve got a 5K run, a 10K ruck. We’ve got a big parade. And this year we’ve got something really special. This year we’re honoring those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as all of our veterans, by bringing in rock star Mark Farner, formerly of Grand Funk Railroad," he said. "So it’s going to be a great day.
More information about Vet Fest can be found at the Town of Whitehall website.
