The Veteran’s Affairs Committee of the Calabash Elks Lodge 2679 recently donated $1,000 to Leland’s John E. Jacobs American Legion Post 68 Be the One program. In part, the Committee’s mission includes providing occasional funding for programs that benefit veterans programs in southeastern North Carolina. Pictured at left are (L-R): John F. Corbett, Jr., Chairman, Veteran’s Affairs Committee; John Hacker, Post 68 1st Vice Commander; Lane Adrian, Post 68 Service Officer; and John Zschoche.
The Legion’s Be the One program aims to assist veterans, their families, caregivers, friends, and others interested in destigmatizing issues surrounding veteran suicides, providing peer-to-peer support, identifying local, state, and federal resources available to veterans in need and their dependents; and educating individuals on how they can Be the One to address and help reduce the significant number of veteran suicides. Program funds are used to publicize the program, identify and promote available local, state, and federal resources, and educate interested parties on how they can contribute to preventing suicides.
Under the leadership of John Hacker, 1st Vice Commander of Post 68, the state of North Carolina leads the way in implementing the American Legion’s national suicide awareness and prevention program. Through its development and promotion of a Be the One QR-enabled business card, the betheoneconnects.org website, social media postings, and community educational meetings, interest in the program has grown exponentially over the last two years. In addition to spreading the word to other state Legion Posts, the program has caught the interest of Brunswick County First Responders, including fire, law enforcement, and EMS personnel. As a result of its local success, John Hacker has been named the North Carolina Legion Department Chair to facilitate program expansion to other Legion posts.
Visit https://www.betheoneconnects.org/ to learn more about the Be the One program and access links to helpful resources for food, housing, health, employment, and more. John Hacker can be contacted at [email protected].