Veterans walk from Denver to Colorado Springs to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Three veterans are making their way on foot from Denver to Colorado Springs in an effort to raise awareness about veteran suicide prevention.

"The whole point of this event is to raise money for suicide prevention for veterans," said Michael Connors, Founder and Owner of Connors K9-PAWS.

The organization participates every year in the annual ruck march for veteran suicide and mental health awareness. 

"Everyone's heard 22 veterans a day. The real number in our country right now is closer to 40, according to current statistics. My personal mindset is one veteran suicide is too many," said Connors.

Connors is a veteran himself and said although this walk is difficult, it is rewarding. 

"We like to kind of keep that mentality because we want to show people like there's no quit. You have to keep pushing through because suicide is never the answer," added Connors.

Connors said he hopes the march will inspire other veterans to reach out for help. 

"I mean, so for me personally, I have been medically retired from the Army since 2016. I spent ten and a half years in the Army, deployed multiple times, and I've been to about 35 more funerals for suicide veterans than I have for combat veterans," said Connors.

Connors started 'Connors K9-PAWS' in 2021 and since then he said he's focused on helping veterans by giving them a furry companion to help overcome their trauma.

"We've been providing service animals to veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, mobility issues, amputations, seizure alert, anything that we can realistically do we are doing," added Connors. "There's people out there who just don't know that resources are available but this is our mental health push."

For those who would like to go out and celebrate with the three veterans, you can meet them here at Dog Haus in North Colorado Springs at 6 p.m. on Thursday.