By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

On average in 2019, 17.2 veterans died by suicide each day according to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report released in September 2021.

And Navy veteran Joseph Palesano, executive director of Wellness Works Glendale, believes that’s unacceptable.

Palesano is co-founder of Not On Our Watch, a program of Wellness Works that raises awareness of the loss of veterans every day due to suicide.

Not On Our Watch was launched in 2015.

“We had heard about the high suicide rate [among veterans] and wanted to do something,” he said of the program. Palesano, who is also a survivor of suicide, shared that veterans returning from battle are often suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“If left untreated the PTSD is unresolved,” he said. “Veterans don’t deal with it and they want to get rid of that feeling.”

Not On Our Watch was modeled after the “fire watch” program where watchers would dedicate time to watch out for a fire to give occupants the chance to sleep.

“Nothing is going to hurt you on my watch,” explained Palesano.

That philosophy is the foundation of Not On Our Watch, which wants to raise awareness of veteran suicide while building community.

“This [event] is for the entire community,” Palesano said. “We’re supporting veterans and their families.”

And after learning of the high rate of suicide deaths by first responders, Palesano said that this year Not On Our Watch wants to also raise awareness about this segment of the population that is suffering.

Over the years, Not On Our Watch events have been held locally including at the Colorado Bridge in Pasadena where veterans walked the bridge 24 hours a day for seven days. In 2018 a three-day event was held at Verdugo Park. In 2020, the pandemic put Not On Our Watch on hiatus though in 2021 an abbreviated version was held at the Wellness Works headquarters in Glendale. While deciding the logistics of having the event in 2022, the staff of Wellness Works got devastating news: the building in Glendale they had called home for 36 years was being sold. (They’re currently searching for new quarters.)

Not only did Not On Our Watch have to find a place to have its event, it also had to find a new home.

After learning that it has overnight events, Palesano contacted the USS Iowa in San Pedro to find out if it could help. He said that his request was “unprecedented” and, with support of the Veteran Peer Access Network and “deep discounts” extended by the USS Iowa, this year’s Not On Our Watch event will be taking place Sept. 24-25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Participants from all walks of life can sign up to stand watch. Palesano said that participants will be given a band designating them as watchers and military dog tags if they are standing watch to honor a veteran. At the end of their watch, the dog tags can be placed on a battle cross installed for the event.

Palesano said that this year’s theme is self-care, which will include martial arts demonstrations to facilitate healing and bring stress relief, and cranial massage therapy. There will also be counselors on-board to listen to those who might need to talk.

He anticipates a heightened sense of history, too.

“We’re walking in the footsteps of our ancestors, all the way back to WWII,” he said. He added that it’s exciting to consider that an instrument of war, the USS Iowa, is being repurposed as a “healing modality.”

Emceeing the event is actor Bill Jones and among the special guest speakers are two moms who lost their veteran sons to suicide.

Palesano wants to make sure that the focus remains on getting the word out that help is available.

“We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll find them – together,” he said. “We’re here for the community – we’re here for you; we’ve got your back.”

To take part in Not On Our Watch, visit Eventbrite at https://tinyurl.com/3cm5r8p4.