Veteran brings hope and healing to others dealing with trauma
By Kristen Consillio
Click here for updates on this story
HAWAII (KITV) — Daniel Mayberry was diagnosed with PTSD after getting out of the service in 2013, struggling for years with depression and thoughts of suicide.
“On one random evening I came close to taking my own life,” he said. “Not only do I struggle and am a survivor of suicidal actions, we’ve lost several people that I’ve known close to me as well… another veteran is out there struggling.”
A local veterans’ support group is working to save lives by bringing veterans together here in Haleiwa to share their experiences and to heal from their trauma.
Mayberry is the creator of the 1 Mile 1 Veteran podcast, sharing real-life stories of veterans talking about the struggles — and triumphs — of life after service.
On Veteran’s Day, the former U.S. Navy corpsman stepped out of the studio to host his first event at a kalo farm, connecting active duty military families and veterans like Susan Alden who recently lost a fellow U.S. Army veteran to suicide.
“In some ways it’s even harder to lose them to suicide because you know we sign up knowing that we could risk our lives for our country and for our fellow veterans, but you never expect for somebody to take their own life,” she said. “So it’s really special to be out here with an organization that is really brining awareness to veteran suicide.”
The event drew about 50 people to the Kokua Learning Farm to spread a message of support and aloha.
“What we really want to spread is hope,” Mayberry said.
And purpose — to help prevent veteran suicides through time in nature, building relationships, and service to others.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
