When William Negley returned from Afghanistan in 2013 after serving in the CIA, he felt called to a new mission. Hegley recognized that individuals in mental health crises, especially veterans and military personnel, don’t reach out for help for fear of the consequences.
Mental health carries a stigma, asking for help is perceived as weakness, and seeking help can sideline career aspirations. So upwards of 47% of military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in a mental health crises never seek professional help.
But Negley’s story is more tragic.
On June 9, 2017, Negley’s brother-in-law took his own life. Bill Mulder had retired 127 days earlier after twenty years as a Navy SEAL.
“Bill did not feel safe accessing mental health support or effectively engaging with mental health support for exactly the reasons that I had started Sound Off.” Negley said. “I mean, we’re already suffering in silence as a society, but the military in particular, pushes seeking help underground.”
Sound Off is an elegant solution. Drawing on military tactics, Sound Off allows individuals in crisis ANONYMITY. By Simply assigning a call sign and never tracking the individual, Sound Off becomes a safe gateway for individuals to seek and find the help they need.
And the current pandemic, with job loss, financial pressures, and isolation makes the mental health need more acute.
The Spotlight
So we asked William Negley to step into the Spotlight to help others step out of the shadows.
Watch the episode on YouTube
Listen to the podcast
More about Sound Off and our guest
Sound Off website: https://sound-off.com/
Sound Off LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sound-off-inc/
William Negley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wwnegley/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundofforg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundofforg/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoundOFF
About your host
Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.