Peter Albert, photographed in front of a mural inside the Butler VA Health Care System, is suicide prevention coordinator at the Butler VA. He will instruct Butler County Community College's new and free “Veteran Suicide: Suicide Prevention is Everyone's Business” course on BC3's main campus in Butler Township. The four-hour, noncredit course begins March 23.

Among Peter Albert's patients at the VA Butler Health Care System are those who tell him they've known more fellow fighters who killed themselves than those they've known who were killed in combat.

Nearly 6,140 U.S. military veterans nationwide died by suicide in 2017, marking the 10th consecutive year in which the number exceeded 6,000, according to the VA's 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. Among them in 2017 were 254 from Pennsylvania.

Veterans who die by suicide, Albert added, might not have even served in combat.

Butler County Community College is offering a new course instructed by Albert that addresses the warning signs exhibited by a struggling veteran and provides resources for help. The free, two-session, four-hour noncredit course — Veteran Suicide: Suicide Prevention is Everyone's Business — is open to the public and runs March 23 and March 30 on BC3's main campus from 6 to 8 p.m.

Albert is the suicide prevention coordinator at the VA Butler Health Care System, which serves veterans from primarily Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

While nearly 40,000 civilians killed themselves in the United States in 2017, military veterans die by suicide at a rate 1.5 times higher, according to the VA's 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.

“There's something about military service, whether you have served in combat or not, that is stressful,” Albert said, adding that a majority of the veterans who die by suicide have never sought counseling.

John Maze, who served 15 years in the Navy and earned the rank of chief petty officer, points to the sudden loss of a structured support system.“It's a very stressful time for most veterans because the military is very structured,” said the BC3 student-veteran. “You have a lot of support around you in the military. If you have something going on in your life, the people around you in the military are going to notice. When you get out of the military, you don't necessarily have that support. And sometimes that's difficult.”Paul Lucas, director of BC3's Lifelong Learning division, said the course is the only one offered this spring that is free — and with good reason.“There are issues that impact veterans,” Lucas said, “and it's good to have as many tools as you can to help the people in your family who might be experiencing difficulty or changes.”Among the warning signs Albert will discuss are veterans exhibiting hopelessness and making statements like “You'll miss me when I'm gone” or “I can't live like this anymore,” as well as anxiety, insomnia, increased use of intoxicants, social withdrawal, and thoughtless risk-taking.To help people prepare, Albert said those who attend the course will role-play in scenarios meant to help initiate the difficult conversation.To register for the course, visit bit.ly/bc3-veterans-health or call 724-287-8711, Ext. 8504.William Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.

Butler County Community College student-veteran John Maze is a 1992 DuBois Area High School graduate who served 15 years in the Navy and earned the rank of chief petty officer. BC3's new and free “Veteran Suicide: Suicide Prevention is Everyone's Business” course is important, Maze said, because “You have a lot of support around you in the military. If you have something going on in your life, the people around you in the military are going to notice. When you get out of the military, you don't necessarily have that support. And sometimes that's difficult.”