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By Tricia Carzoli NEWS@THEWOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM

The U.S. loses veterans and active duty military to suicide at the staggering number – 20 a day – according to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

According to Jennifer Balleto, chairwoman of the McHenry County Suicide Prevention Task Force and navigator at Northwestern Medicine-Woodstock Behavioral Health Community, McHenry County lost 22 veterans to suicide between 2016 and 2020. Last year, the task force listed seven veterans among the 28 total suicides in McHenry County, while this year to date, records show one out of 18 suicides was a veteran.

Mike Iwanicki, superintendent of McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission, said he credited a strong push to check in with others as leading to the decline in numbers from seven military suicides in 2019 to one in 2020.

“People are making phone calls and sending texts or video-calling veterans,” he said. “And that is making a difference.”

Despite the suicide rate decline in McHenry County, the nation is fighting a battle. BraveHearts, located in Harvard and Poplar Grove, is committed to riding 20 miles on horseback every year until the number of suicides is zero.

Trial to Zero on Sunday, Oct. 11, is an offshoot of the BraveHearts’ veterans program, which offers therapeutic horseback riding to veterans and their families at no cost.

Vietnam veteran Bill Mercurio, currently the veterans relations coordinator at BraveHearts, knows first-hand how much working with horses has impacted his well-being. Drafted in 1966, he served in the 20th Engineers Battalion from 1966 to 1977.

Mercurio and his wife, Nancy, are volunteers at the nonprofit organization, and as Mercurio became more immersed in volunteering, he realized his high-stress job provided a distraction from the lingering effects of combat.

“Being around the horses and the veterans,” he said in a phone interview from Kentucky. “That helped me more than I knew.”

In 2017, the couple lost their own son to suicide. Both subsequently spent countless hours at the farm. See VETERANS Page 24

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Parish member Juana Flores is a 2020 recipient of the annual St. Mary Catholic Church Woman of Inspiration for the Spanish Community.

The award is given each year in each parish in the Rockford Diocese. Recipients are women who have given outstanding volunteer service to the parish and community over many years. They are Juana active in several Flores ministries, parish committees, and event planning.

Flores has inspired fellow parishioners with her strong faith and her involvement in many St. Mary outreach ministries.

Since the start of the Spanish Mass in 2000, Flores has been a eucharistic minister, lector, and member of the Hispanic Choir.

She participates in the Spanish Holy Hour every Thursday and serves in the Emmaus women’s ministry.

Her favorite outreach effort is with the sick, elderly, and lonely parishioners. She brings food, comforts them, reads the word of the Lord to them, and even sings a few hymns.

“Juanita has been like a mother to me,” parishioner Consuelo Cruz said. “Ever since I had an accident, she has taken care of me, always making sure I am OK. She brings me to Mass and brings me food. She is like my guardian angel, and I am so thankful to God for putting her in my life.”

Flores and her husband, Arturo Cruz, have a daughter and two sons. She has lived in Woodstock for 40 years and has belonged to St. Mary for 20 years.

“The Woman of Inspiration award given to Juana Flores this year is well deserved,” said the Rev. Burt Absalon, pastor of St. Mary Church and School. “Juana is such a caring motherly presence to all, even to those older than her. Her life of devoted prayer and service to others is a powerful everyday witness that can truly inspire. She is our Woman of the Year for 2020.”

If you are concerned about a loved one’s mental health, or if you are a veteran in need of help, McHenry County has numerous organization available.

n The Veteran Crisis Line responds 24/7: 800-273-8255 or text 838255 for immediate assistance.

n BraveHearts in Harvard provides therapeutic horseback riding and volunteer opportunities: braveheartsriding.org.

n TLS Veterans provides assistance to veterans and families through food, housing , employment, and peer-to-peer support: tlsveterans.org

n Vet Center in Evanston uses offices at TLS Veterans in McHenry for mental health programs and counseling: 847-332-1019

n Veterans R&R and Operation Wild Horse provides free outdoor recreational experiences in Bull Valley: veteransrandr.org

n McHenry County Veter-

provides help with shelter, utilities, food, housing, transportation, and independent living, as well as VA claims and advocacy: 815-334-4229.

n McHenry Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic offers health and wellness as well as mental health assistance: 815-759-2306

n Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center serves local veterans: 847-688-1900.

n Suicide Prevention Task Force provides “Question, Persuade, Refer” courses: email education@namimchenrycounty.org or visit namimchenrrycounty.org/ classes.

“For four months, we spent every day at [BraveHearts],” he recalled. “We needed to be there – I needed to be there. I had anger and grief, and I was in a dark place. … Nancy was overwrought [with grief], but found strength in grooming the horses and talking and walking with the horses in the pasture.”

On his fourth Trail To Zero ride, Mercurio and a handful of veterans recently rode on a private farm in Kentucky to raise awareness about veterans suicide.

The team of experienced BraveHearts riders, including Mercurio, is used to riding in big cities, including New York City and Chicago. But this year, because of COVID-19, they will ride at an undisclosed location in Bull Valley.

The mission of Trail to Zero is to raise awareness, but also to raise money to serve more veterans through its programs, including riding, groundwork, peer support, and conference calls with leaders in the horse industry.

In Harvard, Meggan Hill-McQueeney, BraveHearts president and chief operating officer, oversees the nation’s largest accredited veteran program of Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International. She believes veterans working with horses helps to improve self-esteem, self-worth, and trust for others while decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideations.

Iwanicki and Timothy Heiney, counselor at the Evanston Veterans Center said alternative therapy options like therapeutic riding could be helpful for mental health. Both have referred former military people to Veterans R&R, an organization that provides alternative resources for local veterans. Balleto said activities that provided structure, a sense of purpose, and an opportunity for contribution were key factors in maintaining positive mental health.

Jim Welch, founder and president of Veterans R&R, said veterans felt most comfortable around other veterans.

“Sometimes they don’t want a therapist, ” he said. “What they need is someone who understands in a nonjudgmental setting. The heightened level of alertness that comes with being a vet – like sitting with your back to the wall – can be

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broken down in outdoor activities. ... Getting veterans out of isolation is key to preventing suicide.”

This year, Trail to Zero will be broadcast live from Bull Valley on social media, where 20 BraveHearts veterans will ride 20 miles. Anyone who commits to completing 20 of anything – walking or running 20 miles, doing 20 jumping jacks, or even doing 20 loads of laundry – can begin a fundraiser through trailtozero.org.

McHenry County has many resources for veteran assistance. Kevin Russell, program manager for peerto-peer support at TLS Veterans in McHenry, said the agency’s door never closed during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides peer-to-peer counseling and crisis intervention.

“All of the veteran organizations work together,” Russell explained. “We want to help veterans. While some of our veterans are experiencing isolation, we are doing more outreach to ensure these veterans are safe. … We are here for them – and so are other organizations.”

Veteran assistance groups don’t compete with one another, Welch said.

“There is no way just one organization can meet the needs of all of our local veterans,” he said. “Find the group that works for you. The goal of all of these organizations is to save a life.”

To follow Trail to Zero on Oct. 11, visit the BraveHearts Facebook page; to donate to BraveHearts, visit braveheartsriding.org.

Sometimes I learn that folks know what the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County has accomplished over the years and connect the organization directly with that project or achievement. There are other times that I’ve found, as I have conversa- Environmental tions out in the Defenders community, The Green Scene that the project or activity is known, but not everyone realizes it was accomplished by us, the Defenders.

Creating lasting change and advancing the health of our environment is worthy in and of itself, but still, it’s important to know and understand who is getting the work done. Because, in our case, it’s mostly our passionate and amazing volunteers, including our Board of Directors, carrying out the important work of preserving, protecting, and educating with support from a very small paid staff. Case in point is your Woodstock neighborhood book store! The Green Spot is run completely on volunteer energy, from sorting the books, to arranging the work schedule, to running the store during operating hours. We cannot thank them enough!

As a one-person office, soon to be two-person, being situated across the hall from The Green Spot book store and having the opportunity to greet the volunteers as well as the public, and live that connection between a project and the organization and office it supports, is huge.

Did you know that the popular Green Spot used book store in the Woodstock Square Mall, 110 S. Johnson St., Suite 104, is a fundraising project of the Environmental Defenders? It is thanks to the donations from the community of good quality used books, and as mentioned our wonderful volunteers, that our book store is able to operate. This directly provides support for our office and its programs to preserve and protect the environment.

In fact, The Green Spot is an environmental demonstration itself, as the books that visit our shelves awaiting just the right customer are saved from entering the waste stream and landfills. So, when you shop at The Green Spot soon, please remember that the store is owned and operated by the Environmental Defenders!

And, this month, we’re having a hallway book sale to celebrate its 10th anniversary!

And, when you’re in Crystal Lake, please visit our second book store – The Green Read, which is turning two years next month! Thank you to everyone out there in the community who supports us! n October hours: The Green Spot will be open once again on Wednesdays starting Oct. 7. October hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday (closed on Sunday and Monday). n October sales at The Green Spot: All science fiction/fantasy books are one-half off in October. n The Green Spot book store is marking its 10th anniversary with a hallway book sale Oct. 15 to 27.

Women who own farmland are invited to a free virtual Learning Circle co-hosted by The Land Conservancy of McHenry County and McHenryLake Soil and Water Conservation District.

The online session will be from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. The deadline to register is Oct. 12 at www.ConserveMC.org.

According to a news release, the discussion will focus on conservation practices to improve the health and productivity of farmland, featuring advice from local professional women conservationists. Practices such as no-till, cover crops, and pollinator habitat are examples of building soil health, managing water quality, and including wildlife habitat and beneficial insects into farmland.

The event is open to women with all levels of experience, whether actively managing a farm or recently inheriting a farm and are learning about runnng a healthy and productive operation.

The Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and preservation of natural and agricultural land in McHenry County.

Explore a variety of model railroads exhibited in storefront windows on the charming and historic Woodstock Square. Whether you are a model rail enthusiast or looking for family fun, see the trains and enjoy Woodstock’s local businesses, vintage and artisan boutiques, and independently owned restaurants.

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