American soldier network founder Annie Nelson and heroes NCO Air Force (Ret) Justin Jordan and USMC Chris Carlisle raising awareness for soldier suicide and PTS. #NotOneMore
We lose a veteran roughly EVERY 45 minutes each day to Suicide; at least 1- 3 ACTIVE Duty each day. That’s OVER 8,000 heroes a year we are losing!
22 a day is NOT accurate and it never has been. That number was from a 2011 study done by the VA on veteran suicides, however they only studies 21 of our 50 states and did not include Texas nor California, the two states with the most veterans. Please STOP using the 22 or #22 when referring to veteran/military suicide! This is such a touchy topic we must be accurate when discussing it. Brain health affects every human being. We all have stuff. NO one brain is the same so NO one brain will handle Post Traumatic Stresses of any kind the same. There is no one size fits all cure or treatment.
We at American Soldier Network are dedicated to making a impact nationally on this crisis. This is not only effecting our heroes form Desert Storm on it is tragically taking the lives of our Vietnam veterans as well. It is also taking the lives of the sons/daughters of those who have lost their battles to their demons.
We are launching our efforts to erase the stigma, empower our heroes, challenge ALL Americans to become a part of the Healing process, reminding everyone that we all have stuff, the brain is a powerful machine that must be fine tuned, and NO ONE IS ALONE! We can NOT do this ALONE either. We need YOU! There is not one way to heal, no one place, doctor, facility or process that is a one size fits all for our heroes. That being said, empathy starts here at home and raising awareness to Brain Health, Healing and Empowerment are the pillars of our #HealingHappens campaign.
If you know any people or companies in a position to donate we need everyone’s help and urgency is obviously here….. all monies raised for #HealingHappens will go to Healing our Heroes with PTS, TBI and Suicide Prevention.
Donations are tax deductible
We are a 501c3 charity with ZERO paid staff, so every penny will go to this!!!!
Checks can be sent to American Soldier Network
24000 Alicia Pkwy #17-244
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Flat Track racing is the fastest growing form of motorcycle racing in the world today and we caught up with the best of the best at the Sacramento Mile to salute the troops. 3-time and current Grand National Champion Jared Mees, former 3-time GNC champion Kenny Coolbeth and last years runner up Bryan Smith among others give heartfelt salutes to the troops!
Having no real knowledge of our troops but a fierce need to do something, she decided to write. And write she did.
Corporal Jesse Schertz, hit by suicide bomber on 12/22/2004, became Annie’s first Pen Pal. The Marine in Iraq and Annie at home shared tears, fears, tragedies and triumphs.
The faith and friendship of two strangers brought together by war has proudly grown into the American Soldier Network.
● Over 630 million shoes are thrown away every year in America creating chemical compounds too difficult to breakdown in our Landfills.them FREE to impoverished villages and communities in 3rd world countries.
● Once 25,000 pairs reach the operation hub, Shoes are cleaned-up, repaired & re-fab’d. Then, the Shoes are distributed to the local towns’ people.
● This employs the local residents, giving them a trade, skill & a paycheck.
THIS IS ONLY THE START.
● When the challenge is met, a check for $0.40 per pound of shoes goes to our American Soldier Network to aid the annual veterans outreach projects and advocating for veterans needs nationwide. This campaign directly aids our active duty military, our combat wounded men/women and veterans or all eras. Our Heroes NEED US!!
BARSTOW • Volunteers from the American Soldier Network paid a visit to the Veterans Home of California-Barstow on Monday, and they showed up with hundreds of bags of free stuff for the veterans there.
ASN founder Annie Nelson and her team of volunteers came to the Veterans Home for the program’s annual Hearts for Heroes Valentine’s Day Outreach. Nelson’s team brought 205 SWAG bags.
“SWAG for us stands for Showing Warriors America’s Gratitude,” Nelson said. “In the bags we have items of Valentine’s candy and handmade cards from children across California, as well as items donated by the organizations that support us.”
Nelson has spent the past 10 years traveling the country and raising awareness for U.S. veterans of all eras. For this year’s Hearts for Heroes event, ASN chose to visit the High Desert.
“The reason we chose the Barstow Veterans Home was we had a shoe drive for the American Soldier Network back in October, and the Barstow/Victorville area community raised over 5,000 pairs of used shoes to contribute to our shoe drive,” Nelson said. “This is our way of giving back to the Barstow/Victorville community, delivering our Valentine’s (gifts) to your Veterans Home.”
Veterans Home director Raymond Lau said he was impressed with the ASN event.
“It is really super good,” Lau said. “We have a lot of volunteers that come up here, and for the American Solider Network it’s the first time they came up here, and that’s about a three-hour drive for them. We’re simply amazed.”
