Morano Q&A with Passaro: what could prevent the next veteran suicide
Morano asks Passaro what the city could have done to prevent Adam's suicide. Passaro says Adam was already receiving therapy and had successfully transitioned to Homeland Security. He emphasizes the importance of supporting programs like those Dr. Nelson provides and the Dwyer program.
Well, thank you, and thank you for sharing your experience and Adam's story.
How old was Adam when he passed away?
He was 38.
I really, obviously, you know, I wouldn't trade places with you for anything.
And I can imagine.
The anguish that you've been through since your son's passing.
And I think that's exactly the intent of putting forward a resolution, recognizing White Star families, is so other people feel some comfort in sharing their stories and
connecting with other similarly situated families.
It might be an impossible question for you to answer, but something tells me you've thought about this a lot.
What do you think, if anything, because ultimately when we talk about data, when we talk about outreach, when we talk about funding, when we talk about numbers,
really it all comes down to preventing incidents like what happened to your son from happening.
What do you think the city of New York could do, if it's one thing, if it's a thousand things, that would have gotten your son the care that he needed in order to avoid him taking his own life?
What could we do to prevent the next Adam?
Well, I have to say this.
I mean, he was going for therapy right from the get-go.
And when he had to leave the army, they didn't just say, see ya.
You know, they felt that he had enough in his bank there that he should be still serving in a different capacity.
And that capacity was Homeland Security, which he excelled tremendously.
You know, and...
But just keep doing what you're doing.
You know, like, this is a miracle woman here.
I mean, she lost her husband and had to bring up a child alone and didn't get bitter.
She just kept going and going to help others.
So it's just supporting, you know, this.
It's got to support this.
That's what I would say, you know.
Well, we think you're both pretty inspirational.
So thank you, sir.
Sorry for both of you and the loss that you've experienced.
Thank you for sharing it with this committee.
Hopefully sharing it will help other families in the future.