Talk It Out Tuesdays Ep. 15: Walk the Talk America – Bridging the Gap between Mental Health and Safe Firearm Ownership

In the 15th episode of Talk it out Tuesdays: Walk the Talk America – Bridging the Gap between Mental Health and Safe Firearm Ownership, we discuss how the firearm industry and mental health professionals are collaborating through formal education and outreach, to reduce firearm suicides and other negative incidents associated with firearms ownership.

Firearms claim the lives of more than 23,000 Americans every year, including 1,200 children and teens. Nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths in the US are suicides, resulting in an average of 64 deaths a day. Over the past decade, the US firearm suicide rate has increased by 13 percent. This trend has been of particular concern for children and teens, whose firearm suicide rate has increased by 59 percent over the past 10 years, and for veterans, who have a firearm suicide rate 1.5 times higher than non-veteran adults.

To discuss this important topic, we have Michael David Sodini, Walk the Talk America Founder and 3rd generation firearm industry professional and Jake Wiskerchen, WTTA Trustee and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Crisis Support Services of Nevada’s Executive Director, Rachelle Tourville Pellissier, and episode host, Connie Wray.