ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — Veterans, friends and family walked 3 miles in St. Francis Saturday morning. It's part of a challenge to cover 17.7 miles throughout November to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention.
"The walk was awesome," said Dane Hollis with the local nonprofit Epic Vets. "I love my boys seeing me talk to other veterans and seeing that relationship."
Epic Vets is encouraging the community to walk, run or ruck 17.7 miles this November, either on their own or through group events. Rucking involves walking with a weighted backpack, a common military training exercise.
"We're asking our community to run, walk or ruck 17.7 miles with our events or independently on their own, and it's to raise awareness for veteran suicide," Epic Vets founder Ronnie Ordaz said.
The 17.7 miles represent the average number of veterans who died by suicide per day in 2024, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Ordaz and Hollis are both veterans. They said the transition out of military service can be difficult.
"I did two combat tours and got hurt when I was in, so when I came back, I spent years trying to find my footing," Hollis said.
"When you come back from deployments, everybody kind of moves, everybody lives in different areas," Ordaz said. "You are so close to your unit and then that is suddenly gone."
They encourage people to regularly check in with the veterans in their lives and have conversations about mental health.
"For veteran suicide prevention, a lot of people focus on crisis intervention, which is an important aspect of it, but what we want to focus on is, are we creating communities where people feel included?" Ordaz said. "Are we reaching out to vets and asking how they are doing? Are we creating an environment where you can talk about your mental health?"
The nonprofit is encouraging everyone, not just veterans, to participate in the challenge.
"We don't want our walks to just be vets only — we want it to be a larger conversation within our communities," Ordaz said. "The more people that are aware, the more people can help prevent it."
Beyond the November challenge, Epic Vets works to build connections among veterans through shared experiences and adventures.
"I wanted to create an organization that brings people together and kind of mimics what you experience while you are in the military where you are depending on the person next to you, where you are going through shared experiences, shared challenges together," Ordaz said. "What comes from that is lasting relationships, camaraderie, people you can depend on, and people you can reach out to that understand your experience and what you are going through."
Ordaz said the nonprofit took seven veterans on a free trip to Thailand about a year ago as part of a six-month Muay Thai training program that included sessions in Milwaukee and Thailand.
This year, Epic Vets sponsored a skydiving experience for three veterans, including a Marine veteran with quadriplegia, according to Ordaz.
"We take veterans on epic adventures around the world and we also host a lot of community events in the local area," Ordaz said.
This month, Epic Vets is also working to raise $5,000 to fund future experiences for veterans.
"That's going to help us create more experiences and adventures for Epic Vets and more community events to bring people together," Ordaz said.
Epic Vets' next group run, held with Buena Tierra Run Club, is scheduled for Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at Zócalo Food Park in Milwaukee.
If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support.
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