WE ARE PEOPLE OF ACTION

 
 

Become A Member Of The Watch.

We witness the power of the Just Fucking Ask approach every single day. The members of The Watch, our peer leadership program, save lives by taking the JFA approach to others – to a friend, a family member or the community.

The Principles of The Watch are:

  • Each one of us has the potential to be the difference between life and death.

  • Having real, authentic conversations about firearms and suicide saves lives.

  • A well-placed F-bomb can change the world.

 
 

JOIN THE WATCH.

Sign up for NEW RESOURCES, EVENT UPDATES, AND TO BE PART OF the communitY

 
 
 
 

Are you interested in joining the watch?

We break it down into easy steps with our guide

 
 
 

read the full guide for the watch
Then take the jfa message to your community

 
 
 

STEP 01/>

JUST
FUCKING
ASK /

To be a member of The Watch - our advocate community -
you have to walk the talk and Just Fucking Ask.

 

All members of The Watch commit to the JFA Pledge. With the Pledge, we’re asking veterans, service members and those who care about them to take preemptive action: reach out to a buddy or loved one to #JustFKNAsk and make a plan now, to have each other’s backs in case things ever get rough. This plan includes offering to hold on to or secure that friend’s firearms if there is a crisis, and asking that he or she do the same. Because it’s better to have a plan and not need it, than to need a plan and not have it.

Maybe you’ve already “been there” and asked that question. If you are, CONGRATULATIONS. You’re already part of the JFA movement. Now, keep going: who else in your life could you have this conversation with?

Check out our JFA Pledge conversation guide for more details, through this link

 
 
 
 

STEP 02/>

PREPARE
TO
LEAD /

get ready to answer the all-important question: “Just Fucking Ask” What?

To be a successful member of The Watch, you have to know the what, why, and how of JFA.

Here are the basics:

 

What the data says:

  • 20+ veterans and service members die every day by suicide

  • Half of people who attempt and survive say they thought about it for 10 min or less

  • 90% of attempts with firearms are fatal

  • Gun owners are not more likely to be depressed or suicidal; rather, they’re just more likely to die in their attempts because firearms they use a more lethal method

Asking the right question can save a life
Firearms are tools. Research tells us that putting time and distance between a person in crisis and the deadliest suicide methods saves lives. Firearms are deadlier than all other methods combined.

This means that the right question at a critical moment can save a life:

  • I’m worried about you. Until things even out, what’s up with your firearms?

  • Since things are rough, can I help make a plan for your guns?

  • I’d feel better if I held onto your firearms for a while. Even if you’re not worried about yourself, I am.

The Upshot:
Suicide is often impulsive and firearms are almost always lethal - so the fact that most veterans and service members who attempt suicide do so with a firearm means that more of them die.

Get ahead of it:
Because suicide is often impulsive, we shouldn’t wait until a “crisis” to JFA. The most effective way to prevent firearms suicide is to have a plan in place before someone hits rock bottom. That’s what the JFA Pledge is for. Check out our proactive conversation guide to learn more.

 
 

STEP 03/>

TAKE IT
TO THE
COMMUNITY /

 

become an effective Advocate for change.

 

Share experiences:
Do you have a past experience with someone who was at risk of suicide? If you are willing and able, share it. Encourage other people to share theirs. Suicide impacts more people than we know, and talking openly about it helps others do the same. Stigma is a major reason why veterans and service members military don’t seek help when they are struggling. In the midst of that stigma, the conversation about firearms and suicide is often the most difficult. There’s proof that having honest conversations about firearms and suicide saves lives – but people avoid the topic. By joining The Watch and sharing those experiences, you help end that stigma.

Make it relatable:
Everyone knows about “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.” It’s one of the most successful peer intervention campaigns in history.By framing the Overwatch Project as similar to “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” it makes JFA easier to understand. Having a proactive plan for firearms is like having a designated driver, and that analogy goes a long way.

Share stories:
One of the most powerful tools we use with the Overwatch Project are our JFA success stories: short films about veterans and service members whose life was saved or who saved someone else’s life by asking the question. Someone can be skeptical that it’s important to talk about firearms when suicide is a risk, but it’s really hard to argue with the first-person story of someone who says that JFA saved his or her life. There’s proof that having honest conversations about firearms and suicide saves lives – but people avoid the topic. By joining The Watch and sharing those experiences, you help end that stigma.

Be clear:
Firearms and suicide can be a tough topic, one that has been incredibly politicized. But the Overwatch Project has nothing to do with politics. JFA - and everything that comes with it – is an act of free will, between and among people who care about each other. The reason we focus on a peer approach is because they are relationships built on trust. It’s about making the choice to take steps to avoid a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

 
 

Get the explanation down:
an example of how to explain the Overwatch Project:

 

The Overwatch Project is coming at veteran suicide prevention from a new direction, using an approach that was successfully utilized to help solve another complex problem: drunk driving. It’s equivalent of the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign for veterans and service members, only instead of talking about alcohol and vehicles, it talks about firearms and suicide.

“Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” worked because it empowered individual Americans with the ability to intervene at a critical moment – a moment when it was temporarily unsafe for a friend to operate a particular tool. Now, 70% of Americans say they have intervened to prevent someone from driving under the influence, often by holding on to their car keys. The Overwatch Project takes a similar approach – just in a more blunt way: its call to action is Just Fucking Ask.

Suicide is often impulsive:
Half of people who attempt suicide and survive say they thought about it for 10 minutes or less before attempting. Scientific research tells us that putting time and distance between a person in crisis and the deadliest suicide methods saves lives – much in the way that putting time and distance between a drunk person and a car could save lives. Firearms are deadlier than all other methods combined.

This means that the right question at a critical moment can save a life. The Overwatch Project empowers veterans, service members, and those who care about them to intervene with fellow those who are struggling, by asking to temporarily hold onto their guns or to secure them in some way to prevent a suicide attempt. It is an initiative and campaign created by veterans, for veterans, in an authentic, blunt veteran voice.

Get out there:
First, start with one person . . .
who is one person in your life who is passionate about the cause of preventing suicide. Start with that person. Can you explain the Overwatch Project mission and the JFA approach? Can you answer their questions? A few ways to open that conversation:

  • I’m getting involved in this new program, and this is why . . .

  • I care about military and veteran suicide prevention, and so I’m championing a new cause: the Overwatch Project. Let me tell you about it . .

. . . Then build a team.
With any mission, it’s important get backup. Who else in your community will care about this? Your gym buddy? The staff at your local gun range? Recruit them to be part of your team.

 
 

STEP 04/>

RESOURCES /

 

Spread the word: When it comes to saving lives and
preventing suicide, we are stronger together.

 

Share the JFA message on social media

We make it easy with a social media toolkit, with suggested language, hashtags and graphics. Find the toolkit here.

Rep the cause:
Do you know what happens when you’re wearing a “Just Fucking Ask” t-shirt, or have a JFA sticker on your laptop, or a rifle mag with the hashtag #JustFKNAsk? People ask you, “Just Fucking Ask,’ what?” It gives you an opportunity to have open a conversation about suicide prevention in a new way, even with strangers.