MANSFIELD — Rays of sun rested on a single flag-draped coffin Saturday at the intersection of South Diamond Street and Park Avenue East.
A rotation of volunteers stood silently by the coffin for shifts of 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For most who walk or drive past the display, it often creates a moment of “shock and awe.”
“Roughly 22 veterans or people who are currently serving take their life each day for various reasons,” said Richard Haapanen, a volunteer with Silent Watch.
Haapanen’s daughter, Michele Hawks, is a co-founder of the nonprofit organization, along with Tim Chandler, which works to bring awareness to the issue of veteran suicide.
In 2008, Haapanen’s late son, Seth Haapanen, took his own life. He served in the United States Army National Guard. He was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in Iraq, his father said.
“He went over an IED (improvised explosive device) and survived the blast as the driver of a Humvee,” Haapanen said. “But he was damaged from that point forward, dealing with PTSD and multiple traumatic brain injuries.”
Had this not happened to his son, Haapanen said he doesn’t think it’s something he may have gotten involved with necessarily.
“Because he did, I guess we’re part of a club we never wished we’d be a part of,” he said.
But the Haapanen family has taken devastating pain and turned it into progress through its efforts with Silent Watch.
Stellate ganglion block
Since 2020, Silent Watch has worked to fund veterans receiving stellate ganglion block treatment, an experimental fix for PTSD, which involves injections near a group of nerves located in the neck.
The nonprofit also offers this help to first responders.
It has yet to be approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. SGB is not covered by insurance either, which is why Silent Watch is stepping in to fill the gap by paying for medical and travel costs for veterans who want to try the treatment.
Over the past four years, Silent Watch has sent around 100 people to receive the treatment.
“It doesn’t cure PTSD, but it helps (veterans) to live a better quality of life,” Haapanen said. “It’s effective immediately and long term.”
Silent Watch has sent most veterans to receive this treatment in Annapolis, Maryland. But Haapanen said the nonprofit learned this summer that a medical and wellness center located in Strongsville also administers the SGB shots.
“We raise the money and through events like this, try to find people who are in need of that shot,” he said.
Grieving a Suicide
Shortly after his son took his life, Haapanen was given a copy of the book “Grieving a Suicide: A Loved One’s Search for Comfort, Answers, and Hope” by Albert Y. Hsu.
He said it took him about a month to work his way through the pages, but it helped significantly.
“As a result of that, we buy these by the case and hand them out to people who have suffered a loss or maybe it could be helpful to them,” Haapanen said.
