The New York Film Academy was proud to support the 2nd annual “Not on My Watch” event which was created to draw attention to the fact that more than 20 veterans and military personnel commit suicide every day nationwide.
In 2014, the latest year available, more than 7,400 veterans took their own lives, accounting for 18 percent of all suicides in America. Veterans make up less than 9 percent of the U.S. population.
To bring awareness to this very sad but important issue, NYFA students led by Paul McKenna, MFA Acting student and Iraq war veteran volunteered to support all those veterans who have committed suicide by standing vigil and walking their post on the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, CA from September 14th-17th. Each volunteer wore a dog tag representing a Veteran that was lost due to suicide. At the end of their post the dog tags were hung on a battle cross to show the growing numbers of those lost and those remembered.
NYFA was proud to have students and staff willing to accept this role to remember all of those who have served our country and have unfortunately committed suicide. We hope to continue these efforts as part of our NYFA CARES initiative.