Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Donna Quach. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Donna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment would be when I created the Battle Buddies Application to address mental health and suicide prevention for our veterans and active servicemembers. Being a trauma psychotherapist and a veteran myself, I always felt that our veterans and our Armed Forces servicemen and women need to know they are supported when they ask for emotional support, and understand it is okay for them to not be okay. Our veterans should have a safe place to address their visible and invisible wounds from war, prior traumas from childhood, and substance use to name a few challenges, in which our war veterans face during wartime. The App was crucial as it serves to compliment the 9-8-8 National Crisis Suicide Hotline to address the 17+ veterans per day take their own life.

In 2020, I got connected with a Marketing/Technology company called Flint Avenue LLC and brought my ideas to the table to allow their developing team the opportunity to bring the Battle Buddies App to life. The Battle Buddies App is a veteran to veteran peer line that is based around the urgency of veterans who uses the App when they are in distressed- it provides a safety net for our veterans, a familiar voice, veteran to veteran peer support, support PTSD/Mental illnesses/Suicide prevention, allows senior citizen veterans to connection, establishes a veteran community within the App, and lastly, a resource page for those who needs professional help.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Our You Matter-Not Alone Suicide Prevention Charity is a non-profit 501(C) organization and was established in 2018. I am a Licensed psychotherapist and an Army Medical Officer Veteran. I along with my clinical colleagues where dealing with a high amount of teens expressing suicide ideation, and not knowing healthy coping skills to better manage their daily challenges, and life stressors. Additionally, while serving in the military myself and upon my separation, I was fully aware that my own brothers and sisters in arms were also taking their own lives daily– about 17+ veterans per day die by suicide.

Since the non-profit’s establishment in 2018, YMNA’s main mission is dedicated to suicide prevention, mental health awareneness, and human advocacy work all around the world. Our main mission is dedicated to providing mental health care and suicide care local, nationally, and globaly to our Armed Forces, children, and the families.

Although the charity is only 5 years old, the organization functions like it has been around for decades, with our strong clinical team and mental health advocates volunteers, Myself and my team also established a community relationship with three of the largest non- profit organizations in the world to provide clinical and mental health support. They include UNICEF, St Jude Children’s Hospital, Tragedy Assistance Program for military families, and Precious For Kids Foundation in Uganda. Please visit our website at www.youmatter-notalone. org to learn more about my organization.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Serving in the Army has taught me tremedous resilience by overcoming challenges in life, and never give up when life gets tough. It has also allowed me to learn the importance of leadership skills and prepare me to take responsiblity and be self aware within my inner self. Addtionally, it has built this mentality, where I have acquired the ability to trust myself with my decisions, be my authentic self, and lastly to serve others, who are in need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youmatter-notalone.org
• Instagram: youmatter_notalone
• Facebook: You Matter-Not Aline Charity Organization

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