People around the world are getting in on the 22 Pushup Challenge to help veterans.

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Jason Statham is doing pushups for a really great cause.

It’s called the 22 Pushup Challenge and it’s meant to draw awareness to the epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among military veterans. The 22 represents the highly-cited stat for the number of veterans, on average, who die by suicide each day (although that statistic is lacking context and possibly based on outdated or incomplete numbers).

In recent days, Statham has been posting videos of himself completing his 22 daily pushups even poking fun at director Guy Ritchie’s less-than-perfect form in the process.

To honor those who serve and to raise awareness for veteran suicide. Real heroes that need help.
@22pushupchallenge #22kill @guyritchie

Posted by Jason Statham on Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The goal of the challenge is to utilize the power of social media to combat the stigma surrounding veteran suicide.

With roles in movies like “The Transporter” series, “The Italian Job,” the “Fast & Furious” series, and pretty much any other film that’s ever needed a tough guy with a cockney accent, Statham is one of the greatest action stars of all time.

Knowing that, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that he’s got his form locked down when it comes to being able to fire off a string of pushups.

Statham isn’t alone, either. Tens of thousands of others celebs and otherwise have taken the 22 Pushup Challenge, sharing their stories on social media.

Some notable participants include John Krasinski of “The Office” and, more recently, “13 Hours.”

Actors Chris Pratt and Anna Farris also joined in the challenge.

And even Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker got in on the action.

Like other socially-driven awareness campaigns, the 22 Pushup Challenge relies on a combination of participation and fundraising.

Similar to 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge, which helped raise more than $100 million for the ALS Association, the 22 Pushup Challenge helps raise money for an organization of its own: Honor Courage Commitment‘s 22Kill. Money raised by 22Kill through the 22 Pushup Challenge will be used to support organizations offering programs focused on veteran empowerment and mental health treatment.

While PTSD can affect anybody, veterans are at a higher risk of developing the condition than the general population.

Many combat veterans are exposed to traumatic, life-threatening experiences. According to the Veterans Administration, between 11 and 20% of veterans have PTSD. If left untreated, PTSD can lead to suicide.

To learn more about the 22 Pushup Challenge, visit 22Kill’s Facebook page.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/people-around-the-world-are-getting-in-on-the-22-pushup-challenge-to-help-veterans?c=tpstream

This crisis line does more than provide a supportive ear. It gets real help to our veterans.

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If you can imagine believing that your own strength is what keeps others alive, even at the expense of your own well-being, you might be close to imagining what it’s like to live inside the mind of a veteran.

But who gives strength to the heroes who support us should they need it? This catch-22 is exactly the conundrum so many veterans face.

What should happen first is this: Someone dials the number 800-273-8255, and presses 1.

GIFs via Veterans Crisis Line.

It’s the number for the Veterans Crisis Line. It’s so important that places like this exist so very important that in 2012, President Obama doubled its staff.

The VCL is exactly what it sounds like. Some of its call responders are veterans, and many more are friends or family members of veterans who can understand what they’re going through.

These folks stay on the phone. They follow up. They try to ensure that the person calling is able to get help from local services.

People at the Department of Veterans Affairs are committed to preventing veteran suicide. Even one death by suicide is too many.

While the suicide rate nationwide has been climbing, the suicide rate among veterans receiving health care from the VA has dropped.

The VA is committed to preventing veteran suicide at large, in particular through programs like the Veterans Crisis Line.

Some veterans need even more help. That’s where the Veterans Crisis Line comes in.

It’s hard to reach these heroes. And it’s hard to give them the power to realize that there’s so much strength in putting yourself first and taking care of yourself.

“You know when you hit a baseball and you … get that crack? It’s like that when you’re able to hear a person smile. And make a difference.”

Each of us has the power to reach out to a veteran. If a veteran gets help, things can get better.

I’m sharing because I want every veteran to know about this. It might save that person’s life.

🙂

If you or anyone you know needs support, pick up the phone, dial 800-273-8255, and press 1 or visit the Veterans Crisis Line website to reach a caring, trained responder for a confidential online chat and to connect with other resources.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/this-crisis-line-does-more-than-provide-a-supportive-ear-it-gets-real-help-to-our-veterans?c=tpstream

This retired NFL player put up an amazing gym that trains people with disabilities.

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Retired U.S. Marine Brian Aft was in a dark place after losing both his legs to an IED in Afghanistan.

After going through countless surgeries, Aft turned to heroin when he realized the pain wasnt going away. In time, he became severely addicted.

One day, as he was heading through a parking lot, a dude the size of an NFL linebacker started running toward him. “Youre gonna get robbed,” Brian remembered thinking to himself.

Turns out the dude was an NFL linebacker David Vobora. He had noticed Aft’s injury and apparent addiction and all he wanted to do was ask what happened.

Little did Aft know that the question would change the course of his life forever.

Fixing broken spirits: This former NFL player created a specialty gym to train and rehabilitate disabled veterans. A Starbucks original series.

Posted by Upworthy on Sunday, September 11, 2016

Vobora always understood the importance of fighting back.

Picked dead last in the 2008 NFL draft, Vobora has the distinction of being that years Mr. Irrelevant. But he clawed tooth and nail and eventually became the first rookie Mr. Irrelevant to start a game in over a decade.

Then in 2011, a devastating shoulder injury derailed his NFL career. Vobora played through the pain until the end of the season. But he developed a serious pain-pill addiction along the way and decided to check himself into rehab.

After going through an intense detox, Vobora started training again. But his drive to play professional football diminished. Thats when he decided to retire. It scared him; football was all he’d ever known.

With the odds stacked against him once again, Mr. Irrelevant found a way to make it work. He moved to Dallas with his family and decided to help other elite athletes at his very own training facility the Performance Vault.

Voboras path took a new turn the day he met retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills.

Mills is one of five living veteran quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He, like Aft, was injured by an IED while on patrol.

From the moment Vobora saw him, he was drawn to him. “When was the last time you worked out?” Vobora remembers asking.

“Im sorry. I dont want to make you feel like an idiot, but I dont have arms and legs,” replied Mills.

That didnt matter to Vobora. He didnt see Mills as an Army vet who’d lost his limbs in battle. He simply saw him as a person who had a body. And as Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman once said, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

Vobora and Mills got to work. And then they worked some more.

It didnt matter that Vobora had zero experience training someone with Mills condition. All Vobora wanted to do was help Mills see what he was capable of.

In time, Mills began to thrive.

Thats when Vobora realized that no gym he knew of was providing the kind of work that they were doing. What about the other people whether vet or civilian who had their own physical disabilities?

“Theyve sort of been sidelined,” Vobora says. “They fall into the rehabilitation process, but eventually insurance ran out, cash ran out, and where do they go, right? Where do they go to be apart of a collective group that has this community and this ability to push each other?”

Inspired to make a bigger difference, Vobora started the Adaptive Training Foundation.

Its a nonprofit designed to empower people with disabilities and restore their confidence through athletic movement. By customizing their plan to what each person can do, theyre able to establish a solid training foundation that has the potential to redefine their physical limits.

This is how men and women like Aft were able to change their lives for the better.

The morning after meeting/getting scared by Vobora, Aft came into the gym and started working out.

He came every day for the next three months.

And he trained alongside other incredible athletes.

All of them were pushing themselves to the absolute limit.

No doubt they did things they never would have done at a normal therapy session.

More than just muscle, the foundation is building a stronger sense of purpose into each and every person it trains.

“They make you stronger,” explained Aft. “They instill some insane confidence and self-worth back into you. Not just that, theyre giving you something to do, a place to be, a little sense of community with everybody.”

At the end of the day, what sets Vobora apart as a trainer and mentor is his ability to make everyone feel equal, regardless of disability.

Because of the program, these athletes are able to shatter barriers they thought were set in stone. But you know what? They powered right through, lifted that dang stone, and hurled it as far away as humanly possible.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/this-retired-nfl-player-put-up-an-amazing-gym-that-trains-people-with-disabilities?c=tpstream