Thank you for your service!
Veterans in Indiana face significant challenges related to social isolation, loss of camaraderie, and difficulty reconnecting with civilian life.
These challenges mirror national patterns documented in the VA’s most recent suicide prevention report, which found that 6,398 U.S. veterans died by suicide in 2023, a slight decrease from the 6,442 deaths recorded in 2022 . Despite this small decline, the daily average remains approximately 17.5 veteran suicides per day, underscoring the persistent severity of the crisis .
The VA report also highlights that veterans continue to die by suicide at roughly twice the rate of the non‑veteran adult population, a disparity confirmed by multiple analyses of the 2023 data . This elevated risk is not evenly distributed: more than six in ten veterans who died by suicide in 2023 had not been receiving VA health care in the year prior to their death, indicating that many at‑risk veterans remain disconnected from formal support systems .
Social isolation is one of the most consistently identified risk factors for suicide among veterans. The transition from military to civilian life often involves the sudden loss of structure, shared purpose, and close‑knit peer networks. Rural veterans—such as those in Polk Twp.—face additional barriers, including limited access to veteran‑specific programming, transportation challenges, and fewer opportunities for community engagement. These conditions increase the likelihood that veterans will experience loneliness, disconnection, and reduced well‑being.
Outdoor programming offers a research‑supported pathway to strengthen protective factors associated with suicide prevention. Nature‑based activities reduce stress, lower social pressure, and create natural opportunities for veterans to connect with peers who understand their experiences. Shared challenges—such as navigating a trail, setting up camp, paddling a river, or exploring a cave—rebuild trust, communication, and camaraderie in ways that feel authentic and accessible.
Despite these benefits, many veterans in Indiana lack access to structured, guided outdoor experiences due to financial barriers, lack of equipment, transportation limitations, or absence of organized opportunities. Without intentional, veteran‑centered programming, these barriers persist, and veterans miss out on a proven avenue for building belonging and strengthening social support networks.
Vetpark programs directly address this gap by providing accessible, guided outdoor experiences that foster peer connection, reduce isolation, and reinforce protective factors known to reduce suicide risk. By creating consistent opportunities for veterans to build meaningful relationships in a supportive, mission‑driven environment, the program contributes to statewide efforts to improve veteran well‑being and reduce preventable loss of life.
2026 Co-op Videos
Activities near or at the Park!
2026 Knobstone Trail Videos
Section Hikes:
Delaney Park Loops to Spurgeon Hollow, SH to Oxley Meadow, OM to Elk Creek, EC to Leota, L to New Chapel, NC to Pixely Knob (complete-50.5 miles behind us 9.5 to go)
PK to Finish (coming soon)
We're going to hit the trail again in November as a vetpark original fundraiser! If interested in hiking a section of the Hoosier state's longest footpath with us, keep an eye on the Calendar this fall!
2026 Operation Firewood Videos
Backwoods Tuesdays
Join us on Tuesdays at the park to cut, split, stack wood as a vetpark original resource-raiser!
excerpt, Looking At History, page 48
tomohawk, sling, atlatl, bolas, spear, melee, plinking, fire, archery
Hoosier Frontier Trail
interactive trail featuring the recreational use of early technologies!
Duration ~2hrs, Distance ~1mile
sacramentum militare
Iurant autem milites omnia se strenue facturos quae praeceperit imperator, numquam deserturos militiam nec mortem recusaturos pro Romana republica!
I swear that I shall faithfully execute all that the consul commands, that I shall never desert the service, and that I shall not seek to avoid death for the Roman republic!
Horatius Banner
Buffalo: the bison represents America's military- leading from the front, but also yoked to the civic project
Plow: the plow represents American civilization- hearth and home
Dipper: both strive toward the big dipper- representing the common destiny and transcendental ideals we share as Americans
Medieval Knight's Investiture Oath
Soldier's Creed
I am an American Soldier. I am a member of the United States Army – a protector of the greatest nation on earth. Because I am proud of the uniform I wear, I will always act in ways creditable to the military service and the nation it is sworn to guard.
I am proud of my own organization. I will do all I can to make it the finest unit in the Army. I will be loyal to those under whom I serve. I will do my full part to carry out orders and instructions given to me or my unit.
As a soldier, I realize that I am a member of a time-honored profession—that I am doing my share to keep alive the principles of freedom for which my country stands. No matter what the situation I am in, I will never do anything, for pleasure, profit, or personal safety, which will disgrace my uniform, my unit, or my country. I will use every means I have, even beyond the line of duty, to restrain my Army comrades from actions disgraceful to themselves and to the uniform.
I am proud of my country and its flag. I will try to make the people of this nation proud of the service I represent, for I am an American Soldier.
call/text/email
812-340-5210
welcome@vetpark.org