Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at Once a Soldier

• What is your mission?

  For the families, the suicide becomes the least of their problems. Paying for the funeral overwhelms and adds to their grief. With your help, we will become the preferred channel for those who care about our veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.

• How are donations used?

  The Silver Lining Project responds to financial requests for help. There are two pinch points for the families after a suicide: flying the body home and the funeral home costs. We step in to get the body in the hands of their loved ones ASAP.

  Emotionally, our Silver Lining Memorials encourages families to remember that their loved one who was once a soldier was also once a spouse, parent, child, football fan, bread-winner, funny, beautiful and more. It's the most rewarding part of your gift.

• What can be done with a $100 donation?

  Paying the bills directly tied to the funeral expenses and funding the support system behind it.

• What progress has been made already thanks to your donors?

  Our website is how families find us, as well as those thinking about suicide, struggling with PTSD. We've saved more lives than we've helped bury.

• What is the history of your organization?

  Their a misconception that the VA pays for a Veteran's burial. Veterans are entitled to a plot in a national cemetery, an in-ground marker and a 30-minute service. Seeing the sacrifice made by Veteran or active duty families, and thinking of their plight after a Veteran suicide motivated us to create the most streamline way of changing their lives. As a digital marketer, our founder and Board focus on reaching those in need. In 2018, our digital efforts to save lives and help families made us one of the information leaders in soldier suicide, PTSD and Veteran family affairs. January of 2019 kicked off our Silver Lining Project - the financial arm of our Silver Linings.