More soldiers died by suicide last year than in combat. It's those numbers, recently released by the U.S. Army, that has local Red Cross responders trying to help.
"We meet with families in a few different stages of the process," said QCA Red Cross coordinator, Kasey Kelly.
The Red Cross of the Quad Cities has partnered with the military for several years. Red Cross volunteers are present during military deployments, demobilizations and homecomings.
The American Red Cross is also offering troops new "Reconnection" workshops --
"Working on how to communicate, how to manage stress, talk to children," said Kelly. "Finding out what are some triggers that might come up when families are interacting."
Kelly said there haven't been any "Reconnection" workshops held locally because there hasn't been a local demand for the program since it was created --
"In the Quad Cities we haven't had a lot of units that have been returning," she said. "A lot of them returned prior to us starting this workshop."
But, Kelly adds, similar services are being offered to individual soldiers and their families if needed.
