“Empowering the Spirit” to Prevent Veteran Suicide
By Maureen Dyman, Communications Director
At the Houston VA Medical Center, something special is happening. A new program called “Empowering the Spirit” is shining a light on the lives of Veterans at risk for suicide, combining the compassionate care of chaplains and nurses into a unique spiritual care bundle.
Launched as a 12-week pilot program in March, this initiative invites Veterans to explore their spirituality and discover how it can bring hope, healing, and connection.
Led by a chaplain and a nurse, participants come together weekly, using an evidence-based curriculum designed to help Veterans reconnect with their spiritual selves. It’s not just about talking; it’s about finding meaningful tools for healing and growth.
One of the first graduates, Army Veteran Jason Ayala, entered the program with a little skepticism. Having spent years in therapy dealing with PTSD, Ayala was unsure how a chaplain and a nurse could offer him anything new. However, after being encouraged by VA staff to join the program during a particularly tough holiday season, he took the leap.
“I thought, ‘What are these two guys going to tell me that I haven’t already heard?’” Ayala said.
To his surprise, the program offered him more than just words; it provided him with hope, forgiveness, and the strength to repair fractured relationships in his life. As a father of seven, the weight of his military experiences had led him to feel isolated and lost from his faith. Through the Empowering the Spirit program, he began to feel more hopeful and reconnect to his spirituality, even returning to church with his children.
Dr. Emmanuel Thompson, the Houston VA’s board-certified clinical chaplain and the mastermind behind this transformative program, understands the struggle of Veterans firsthand. Having grown up in Sierra Leone during a revolutionary war, he arrived in the U.S. in 2000 with a lot of healing to do. His personal experiences and expertise in moral injury fueled his passion for helping Veterans navigate their crises.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to witness the transformations happening in Veterans right before our eyes,” Thompson said. “We’re helping them find clarity and reclaim their hope for the future. It’s truly life changing.”
Nurse Jedidiah Duran, a key player in the program, shares a similar background. As a former Navy hospital corpsman who faced his own battles with PTSD, Duran knows the path many Veterans walk. He battled PTSD himself and experienced a dark period where he contemplated suicide. Duran vividly recalls a moment when he was driving his motorcycle without a helmet, teetering on the edge of surrendering to a crash. It was in that moment of vulnerability that he found a renewed faith in God, leading him to seek help at the VA.
Duran’s desire to give back to his fellow Veterans led him to work at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, where he began to channel his experiences into helping others. After transferring from the main medical center to the VA Clinic in Conroe, TX, he teamed up with Chaplain Thompson to launch the Empowering the Spirit program, going out of his way to share his personal story with the participants. His authenticity resonates deeply with Veterans like Ayala, who said he appreciates the connection and understanding Duran brings to the table.
“It took a lot of guts for Mr. Duran to share his story with us,” Ayala said. “He not only understood where I was coming from; he had been there himself.”
The program’s hybrid model allows Veterans to join in person or remotely, ensuring the widest reach possible. Duran and Thompson work closely with the suicide prevention staff at the Houston VA to identify those who could benefit from this transformative experience.
Navy Veteran Brett Blackburn is another recent graduate of the program. After a suicide attempt earlier this year, he joined the program at the encouragement of a VA chaplain. Now, he’s “100 percent glad” he did. He’s currently in seminary school at Houston Christian University, filled with hope for the future.
“At first, I was apprehensive about joining the program, but everyone in the group came from the same place. It was a safe space to share with other Veterans and not feel alone. It truly changed my life,” said Blackburn.
For Ayala, the journey is ongoing. While he still battles nightmares and the effects of his service, the hope and forgiveness he’s found through reconnecting with his spirituality brings him joy.
“I thought it was refreshing that when I signed up for this program, they didn’t promise to fix me,” he said. “They met each one of us where we were and helped inspire us to surrender to God for healing. It’s all about empowerment—embracing the spirit within us.”
According to Chaplain Thompson, a team of employees, Ms. Carla Larsson, Kathleen Naca-Abell, and Sun Ko, worked closely with he and Nurse Duran to research scientific and data-based articles and ensure the program featured the best evidence-based foundation. The team did presentations about the program throughout the hospital, consulting with enthusiastic mental health professionals and experienced clinicians. Thanks to their efforts, the Houston VA is expanding the “Empowering the Spirit” program beyond the Conroe VA Clinic, to meet the needs of Veterans throughout southeast Texas.
“The link between spirituality and healing is clear,” said Thompson. “Suicide prevention is everyone’s business and the Houston VA is here to do everything we can to help.”