Stories of resilience emerge following Journal Sentinel series on guns and mental health

Mike Aschinger is used to getting calls from people in crisis, usually fellow veterans who are having trouble navigating life and need the ear of someone who has been in similar straits and is trained on how to help.

Aschinger's phone was ringing often after a series published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last fall that examined gun deaths statewide, revealing that suicide accounts for about 70% of such deaths each year in Wisconsin.

The series highlighted efforts by Aschinger and others trying to reverse the trend and save lives.

Aschinger, a retired U.S. Army Reserves command sergeant major living in Green Bay, got a half-dozen calls in a matter of weeks, ranging from people in crisis to family members concerned about loved ones.

Each of the cases resulted in the person voluntarily getting help and agreeing to give up their firearms for a time, he said.

Around the same time, 50 miles to the south, Manitowoc County coroner Curt Green found himself having deep conversations about mental health with police officers he has known for years, prompted by the story of Green's personal history of trauma, much of it involving guns.

The officers told Green it helped them understand better why he, as coroner, advocates so fiercely for families. Green hopes to keep the conversation going by hosting a public event in Manitowoc this fall to present data he has collected as coroner.

About 200 miles to the northwest, in Park Falls, gun store owner Chuck Lovelace estimates he has heard from two dozen people — customers, strangers and even a local domestic violence support group — encouraged by a program featured in the series, where gun stores hold firearms for people who voluntarily bring them in during a crisis.

Lovelace's store, about two hours north of Wausau, was the first in the state to participate.

People called, dropped in to Lovelace's store, and one even sent an old-fashioned thank you card.

"Getting that community feedback, that community sense of love, was just great," Lovelace said.

Lovelace, Aschinger, Green and others trace the impact of the Journal Sentinel's series through these quiet chats, new connections made and grassroots efforts among gun owners strengthened — effects they see rippling out across the state and beyond.

"I think the numbers are starting to speak," Aschinger said of the surging suicide numbers. "All of this attention being paid is having a positive impact. It's been a lot of good and it just keeps going."

Suicide in Wisconsin is climbing and here are some encouraging stories

Urgency around the issue of suicide has been rising in Wisconsin and nationwide. In 2023, there were a near-record number of suicides in Wisconsin and across the country, according to state and federal data. Gun suicides topped 500 last year in Wisconsin for the first time.

Through the O’Brien Fellowship, the Journal Sentinel sought to better understand the full extent of gun deaths in the state. A team sought death data from every county in Wisconsin. Over 12 months, they obtained records from nearly every one of them.

A picture of gun deaths emerged that was not so heavily tilted toward Milwaukee, as some might expect based on news reports. The counties with the highest death rates are in rural Wisconsin and the numbers appear to be climbing fastest in suburban counties, the data showed. Older white males are the most likely to die by gun suicide.

Experts stress that gun owners aren’t more prone to suicidal thoughts. However, because of their access to firearms, a death is more likely should they encounter a crisis or conflict arises.

As a former soldier and police officer and himself a gun owner, Aschinger is well-aware of these facts. He has been trained in counseling people in crisis and doing that for years. After the story on his work was published, Aschinger said calls for help increased.

They included one from a woman whose adult son had gone through a break-up and was feeling abandoned and suicidal. His mother asked Aschinger to intervene. The young man told Aschinger he had thought about ending his life. After the call, he agreed to get help.

Just days later, a veteran found Aschinger on Facebook. They talked and the man now is checking in regularly with Aschinger.

A different veteran, from Green Bay, saw the piece, called Aschinger and the pair started going on walks. Those continue.

"We talk about life and hope and dreams and that things can improve," Aschinger said.

What Aschinger hasn't heard are negative comments. That surprised him. In the series, he spoke about the need for people to possibly give up their firearms for a time if a crisis emerges.

“I lean towards saying, ‘Hey, for the time being, this is a moment for a baseball bat,’” Aschinger said in the article.

Aschinger said he was sure there would be blowback from gun rights supporters, including some friends.

"I was like well, here we go. I'm gonna put my armor on and just get ready to have the argument," Aschinger said. "I was waiting for some serious feedback and nothing. I didn't hear anything negative. It was crazy."

And, he said, it was encouraging.

Coroner hopes cops can see victims as someone's child or parent

In Manitowoc, Green has sometimes butted heads with law enforcement over how to treat families, especially after suicides.

He recalls one case where a mother wanted her son's clothing back for the funeral. The police were not giving it over because the case was open. Knowing it would end up being ruled a suicide, Green intervened on the mother's behalf.

After Green's story was published, some of the officers involved in that case said they understood better why Green fights so hard for victims. Green's grandfather and brother died by suicide and his sister and nephew were murdered.

A police officer who knew Green well came into his office, sat down and announced, "Now I know why you are the way you are."

"I told him, 'Don't forget it. I will always be standing up for that mother,'" Green said. "It is helpful for them to have that understanding that's not just a suicide you're going on, that is somebody's kid, somebody's dad, there's a whole story behind that."

In the article, Green voiced his support for Wisconsin adopting a so-called “red flag” law, which allows police to remove guns from someone if a judge finds the person is in danger of harming themselves or others. Some law enforcement officers he knows don't support that, but they told him they now appreciate where he is coming from.

Maybe most encouraging was a cop who came to Green to confide some personal problems he had. Knowing Green had gone through so much opened the door, he said.

"Law enforcement tends to be a stoic breed and stuff their feelings, so that was nice," Green said.

Bill supporting gun shop storage dead but the program continues

A grassroots efforts emerged in Wisconsin and other states years ago in which gun stores agreed to hold firearms for people in distress who voluntarily bring them in and educate employees on the potential signs of crisis and suicide.

Lovelace's was the first store in Wisconsin to sign up. Since then, nearly 40 gun shops have joined the program.

Last year, a bipartisan bill that would have awarded grants to gun stores to pay for safes and promotional materials did not advance in the Legislature for a third time.

Maddy Hunt, spokeswoman for state Sen. Jesse James, the bill's author and a Republican from Altoona, wrote in an email, "Since it’s a grant program and new funds weren’t approved, it can’t be done. Unfortunately, the bill is dead."

Despite that, Lovelace and other gun stores continue their participation in the program.

Following the article on his background as a former soldier who himself has contended with mental health challenges, Lovelace received positive comments and support. Lovelace said he has been most encouraged that gun owners are seeing the program differently — and more accurately — now.

"We are offering a service that helps people in a time of crisis and lets them keep their dignity," he said. "People used to think it was another way to take someone’s guns away. Now people are saying, 'Holy crap, they are actually making a difference.'"

About this project

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich examined the full extent of gun deaths in Wisconsin during a nine-month O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University.

The project reveals the full picture of gun deaths in the state and tells the stories of people affected by gun deaths and those trying to find solutions.

Diedrich was assisted in the project by Marquette student researchers Alex Rivera Grant and Ben Schultz.

Marquette University and administrators of the program played no role in the reporting, editing or presentation of this project.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Stories of resilience emerge following Journal Sentinel gun project