Michigan veteran and suicide survivor gives back as peer support specialist
March 03, 2020
Doug Brinker has come dangerously close in his life to becoming a casualty of the veteran suicide epidemic, more than once. The former Navy helmsman survived two suicide attempts and is now passionate about helping others recover from mental health crisis as he did. He does this as a peer support specialist at LifeWays Community Mental Health in Jackson, Michigan through the facility’s Crisis R&R program.
Brinker found himself unable to readjust to civilian life after he was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1984. After years of what he describes as a “dark time,” he attempted suicide, twice. First, he tried to drink himself to death and wound up in an emergency room with six times the legal limit of alcohol in his body. About a year later, he tried again. Thankfully he was unsuccessful.
During this time in his life, Brinker himself utilized the crisis services offered by LifeWays Community Mental Health. He now uses his experiences to support others who need the same kind of help. As a peer support specialist, he meets with patients in a crisis on a walk-in basis. This way they can get support almost immediately (wait times are no more than 15 minutes) and are able to connect with another person who has gone through similar struggles with mental health.
After Brinker talks with a patient about their crisis, he sends them home with a safety plan and actionable steps to help get them through. He works with patients to develop coping skills and can help them activate their own support systems at home. He then calls to check up on them several times, 24, 48 and 72 hours after their visit to LifeWays.
Brinker’s shifts at Crisis R&R get extremely busy at times and patients come in specifically to talk to him. He hopes to one day also work full time as a suicide prevention and PTSD advocate. He also serves as the Department of Michigan PTSD director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and has written a book, which he hopes to publish later this year. The book details his experiences and how he overcame adversity. It has 22 chapters, to represent the 22 veterans who die by suicide every day.
He says he lives by one simple concept: “Hope is helping one person every day.”