COMMUNITY

Chandler veteran trying to save others from suicide

ARIZONAN NEWS STAFF

CaS Facciponti had reached a breaking point in 2013. The military officer had been told by her superiors that she had to retire due to a lingering combat injury she sustained in Afghanistan.

Facciponti was reluctant to leave the service after devoting so much of her life to it and fought the order but the West Point graduate was told that her 10-year military career was effectively over. “It was the only fight I had ever lost,” she said. “It was almost like a sense of failure.”

Facciponti struggled to readjust back to civilian life and felt like she no longer had any sense of an identity. “It was like a shadow of me and a dark, dark shadow,” she recalled.

Facciponti realized she had to save herself by making a change and decided she needed to find a way to continue serving her country.

Instead of saving soldiers on a battlefield, Facciponti used her expertise to save veterans from their inner battles. Four years ago, Facciponti co-founded a nonprofit in Chandler that specializes in assisting veterans and their family members in navigating the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and avoiding thoughts of suicidal ideation. CaS Facciponti of Chandler helps veterans avert suicidal tendencies. (File photo)

Known as Operation Shockwave, the local organization attempts to shrink Arizona’s rate of veteran suicides by offering educational workshops, therapeutic activities, and a safe place for service members to share their struggles. Facciponti said the nonprofit’s name fittingly describes the seismic intervention that’s sometimes needed to rescue a veteran from the despair of their trauma. “We can’t save lives doing ripples,” she said. “We have to save lives through shockwaves of helping one another.”

Operation Shockwave attempts to offer veterans a sense of community by hosting events and classes that can reduce the societal stigma often associated with mental illness.

It’s work that appears to still be needed as the nation continues to grapple with a significant number of veteran suicides each year. More than 6,400 of the nation’s veterans died by suicide in 2018, a rate that was slightly higher than the year before.

Arizona’s veteran-suicide rate is significantly higher than national rates, with the state reporting more than 220 deaths in 2018.

Facciponti’s small team of volunteers encourage veterans to calm their minds by reconnecting with nature, adopting a service animal, or trying out a new hobby. Volunteers additionally partner with other organizations to help veterans obtain basic living needs or resolve outstanding claims with the Veterans Health Administration.

“I really wanted to start something that kind of closed the civil-military gap and educated people,” Facciponti said. A native of New York City, Facciponti credits her lifelong passion for public service to her parents, both of whom worked as civil servants and instilled in her a strong sense of sacrifice and patriotism.

After getting out of the military and relocating to Arizona, Facciponti noticed how other veterans seemed to lack a sense of direction in their lives and were routinely teetering on the edge of crisis. Her nonprofit started out teaching mental health workshops, but Facciponti discovered there was more that needed to be done to service veterans.

There were opportunities for healing being wasted, she said, because veterans weren’t aware of all the coping mechanisms that could help them overcome their trauma. Now the nonprofit has dozens of veterans participating in programs that have them discovering the simple comfort of picking up a book or spending time with a dog. “If they’re willing to put down the gun, and pick up a leash -- that’s all I can hope for,” Facciponti said. “One day, one veteran at a time.”

The goal of Operation Shockwave is to convince every veteran that they’re deserving of a loving, fulfilling life, Facciponti added, but they just have to be willing to reach out for help before it’s too late.

“I wish people would understand that they need to check in before they check out,” Facciponti said. Veterans experiencing suicidal ideation can contact the national hotline by calling 1-800-273-8255 or texting 838255.

More information can be found at operationshockwave.org.

United Food Bank launching fitness campaign

ARIZONAN NEWS STAFF

United Food Bank is launching a new campaign next month that will help people stay fit while they save their less fortunate neighbors from hunger. The Mesa nonprofit is one of 200 food banks across the country partners with Feeding America, a nonprofit that helps feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. Forbes ranks Feeding America as the second largest U.S. charity by revenue. Because September is Hunger Action Month, United Food Bank is urging people to join the Fit to Feed Fitness Challenge, which enables participants to meet new health goals while raising funds for 100,000 meals.

Registration for the month-long challenge is open now at fittofeedaz.org.

Participants will log activities such as going to the gym, hiking, volunteering, fundraising and even meditating to compete for weekly prize giveaways and support United Food Bank and their own healthy habits. They also will have access to free exclusive events during September, and the first 75 people to sign up for the Fit to Feed Fitness Challenge will receive a free Arizona State Park day pass.

“All registered participants are invited to work their muscles at the United Food Bank Volunteer Center on Sept. 1 to help pack food bags for its 165 partner agencies who serve people in need throughout the East Valley and southeastern Arizona,” a spokeswoman for the food bank said.

Information: UnitedFoodBank.org.

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