Valor Support Project holding Jan. 17 mental health event at Rock Falls American Legion

ROCK FALLS – The Valor Support Project is partnering with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to invite the public to a free Jan. 17 mental health event.

The event will run from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Rock Falls American Legion Post 902 at 712 Fourth Ave. It will feature keynote speaker Dan Miller, a retired U.S. Marine and member of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Warriors Speak team, who will share information about WWP’s programs and services.

The WWP is a national nonprofit organization supporting wounded veterans and their families. It offers several programs to help veterans with physical and mental health, financial wellness, career counseling, physical rehabilitation from service-related injuries and more.

“Our mission is to honor and empower our nation’s wounded warriors,” Miller said.

Miller’s military career spans 29 years, including 24 years as a reservist and five years on active duty when he was deployed numerous times, including for Operation Desert Storm and twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served as a police officer on Cook County police departments for 21 years.

After retiring in 2015, Miller was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. After decades of witnessing the horrors of war, Miller contemplated suicide for the first time since high school.

“I ended up in a car with my service weapon to my head,” Miller said. “The reason I did not do that is because of a brochure from someone I had met through the Wounded Warrior Project. I saw the resilience in that individual, and I saw that he had not given up, which made me question why I was giving up.”

Miller decided to join the WWP and has been helping other veterans as a Warriors Speak spokesperson since 2016. He said most veterans are hesitant to ask for help because their military service teaches them to think of others first. However, suffering in silence takes its toll – a price Miller has seen 19 fellow Marines pay for with their lives.

“All these guys made it through combat but, in the end, they lost that internal fight,” Miller said. “When you’re over there, all you think about is getting home. Once you get home, it’s going to be easy, it’s going to be cake. But then you get home and you realize it’s not. So, that’s my fight – trying to reduce the number of veterans that are ending their lives.”

The Valor Support Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was started by retired Army Sgt. Floyd Dunn of Sterling. The project takes requests for assistance from veterans in the Sauk Valley, who are then considered by Dunn and the review board. It raises money through grants, donations and fundraisers.

Veterans can request assistance by filling out an application online at valorsupportproject.com.

Interested in becoming part of the mission? Sign up through the Valor Ambassadorship program to volunteer your time and learn more.