Todd Harding interviews Greg Goetsch about Qualified Listeners, a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 to support veterans in five counties of northern Colorado. Goetsch, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Navy from 1968-1974, created the organization after recognizing a critical need for face-to-face listening services for veterans.
- 85,000 veterans live in five northern Colorado counties, with over 70% not enrolled in the VA system
- Veterans commit suicide at alarming rates – officially 20-22 per day nationally, though Goetsch believes the actual number is higher
- Vietnam War lost 58,000 warriors in combat but over 150,000 veterans to suicide since then
- Qualified Listeners provides free peer-to-peer listening services and maintains a vetted directory of 50 resource organizations
- The organization is entirely volunteer-run and actively seeking additional funding and volunteers
- Contact: 720-600-0860 or qualifiedlisteners.org