Rebecca Murga directed these two public service spots for the Brady Foundation and the Ad Council from Gig Line Media, a creative shop owned by military veterans.
The PSAs address the stark fact that veterans are more likely to die by suicide than other American adults–and the majority of vet suicide deaths (69%) involve a firearm, compared to roughly half (48%) among civilians. Guns are by far the deadliest method of suicide: 90% of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal, compared to only 4% of suicide attempts with other methods, on average. Nearly half of all Veterans own at least one firearm, and access to a firearm in the household triples the risk of a suicide death. And most suicide attempts are undertaken during moments of temporary crisis. By storing all guns in our homes securely—locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition—we can help ensure a temporary crisis doesn’t turn into a permanent tragedy.
The PSAs were created by and feature real veterans–including this “Service Never Stops” spot in which we meet Chris Jachimiec, a vet who lost his brother to suicide. The work is a continuation of the Ad Council’s End Family Fire campaign introduced in 2018. Family fire refers to a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun in the home that results in death or injury. Unintentional shootings, suicide, and intentional shootings are all forms of family fire.
