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News you can use
Motorcyclists ride down First Street Friday on the way to the Havre stop in the cross-state Ride for Tomorrow suicide awareness and prevention ride.
Candace Dess, from left, Jim Schaff and Kerry Doney staff the Havre stop in the 2022 Ride for Tomorrow cross-state motorcycle ride to raise awareness and for prevention of suicide.
Friday evening, the Havre Eagles Club set up a stop on the path of the Second Annual Ride for Tomorrow, a 1,500 mile motorcycle ride being held to raise suicide prevention awareness and provide people education on how to identify people in crisis and find them the help they need.
Havre's stop, at Zip Trip on First Street, provided packaged meals, burgers and beverages to the riders, including a trio from the Havre American Legion Riders.
Last year's inaugural Ride for Tomorrow included a 300-, 500-, and 1,000-mile ride. This year added a 1,500-mile ride.
The ride was organized by American Legion Post 4 in Billings and Dog Tag Buddies, an organization that trains and provides service dogs to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
The event provided information about suicide to people, how to spot signs and how to refer people to resources, which American Legion Riders Jim Schaff and Melinda Dozega said is really important for veterans and the people who care about them.
Dozega, the group's historian, said depression and suicide are rampant amoung veterans and people need to know the signs and know what to do to get people help since they often don't know what to do on their own.
"A lot of people feel like they don't have anywhere to go, or anyone to talk to," she said.
Indeed the event is geared toward veterans, but the advice at the event is helpful for many people, Schaff said.
He said American Legion Post 4 has sent people to Havre to help train their group on suicide prevention, often on their own time, and they're very grateful for their work getting people educated and watching for people in danger of hurting themselves.
"Extra eyes help out," he said.
Dozega said it can be hard to know what people deployed overseas have gone through and they are often dealing with those memories for a long time after they come home as well as things like post-traumatic stress disorder.
"You may have no idea what they endured over there, what they've seen, what they had to do, and then coming back to civilization, you can't just turn your mind off and pretend it didn't happen, they carry it home with them," she said.
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