At least one military veteran or active-duty service member died by suicide every week in El Paso County last year, according to the coroner’s 2021 investigative death report released Tuesday.
“The number is upsetting,” said Damian McCabe, director of behavioral health-military affairs for UCHealth, which operates three hospitals and numerous clinics in Colorado Springs.
Of the county’s 176 deaths by suicide in 2021, 53 people had known active or previous military duty, the annual report shows. That’s a 10% increase from the previous year, when 36 active-duty or military veterans died by suicide out of 178 suicide deaths countywide.