Today, soldiers die by suicide at 4x the rate they do in combat. That means it’s more dangerous for a soldier to return to civilian life than remain deployed. For USAA, a company founded by military service members for military service members — this is unacceptable. Together, we launched Face the Fight, a coalition uniting companies, individuals, and veterans with one aspirational goal: cut veteran suicide in half by 2030.
Many organizations have tried to tackle veteran suicide over the years, but we noticed something striking — the responsibility is often placed on the veterans to seek help. This perpetuated the false notion that suicide is an individual matter, rather than a systematic problem that requires collective action. We believe veteran suicide is an issue we all need to face together.
Thinking larger than an awareness campaign, we worked with USAA to launch Face the Fight, a coalition of corporations, foundations, non-profit and veteran focused foundations and an ongoing platform. The heart of the initiative was veterans becoming the driving voices, sharing their struggles and triumphs when facing thoughts of suicide. We created a dedicated website as a central hub for veterans to tell their stories, for organizations and individuals to join the fight, and resources to combat suicide. With real veterans at the forefront, we curated deeply personal stories, which were shared across the coalition’s platforms, shedding light on the importance of mental health, community support, and seeking help.
USAA's partnership with major stakeholders in the veteran community allowed the coalition to host live and virtual events, engage audiences and create ongoing opportunities for companies and individuals to join in the fight.
Since its launch in 2023, Face the Fight has made significant strides in combating veteran suicide. On launch day, USAA was joined by founding members Reach Resilience and the Humana Foundation. Since then, over 200 corporate partners have committed to the cause, helping to raise more than $85 million, 200 mental health clinicians have been trained, over 5,000 veterans have received suicide-specific interventions, over 15,000 individuals have been screened for suicide risk and by 2032 we anticipate over 3 million veterans will have been screened.
