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Department of Montana’s Buddy Check Call Night see more than 70 veterans contacted through Buddy Check calls.

The end of September and first few days of October were a busy time for �������� Department of Montana. In addition to hosting National Commander Jay Bowen for his official visit, the department also conducted both its fall conference and department Legion College.

And in the midst of all of that, a group of 20 Legionnaires gathered on Oct. 1 to check on their fellow veterans. The department’s Buddy Check Call Night took place at the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center outside of Helena and saw phone calls made to 158 members of American Legion Post 2 in Helena.

The effort was part of the department’s program to reduce veteran suicide and saw department leadership take part in that mission, including Department Commander Irene Dickerson.

“Buddy Checks are personal to me,” Dickerson said. “I had a family member die by suicide. You just realize you need to reach out to these people and let them know that you are there for them.”

The Buddy Checks were part of this year’s department Legion College. “The dean of the college is my vice commander, Brian Carpenter,” Dickerson said. “He and I were discussing what we should do to add onto the classes. We just said, ‘Buddy Checks. We need to do Buddy Checks,’ because we haven’t focused on that recently. And it was a great success.”

Of the 158 calls, around 75 reached a veteran. Dickerson said the calls were made to a mix of veterans that hadn’t renewed their membership or hadn’t been in contact with the Legion in a while.

“Nobody said anything about it being time to renew,” Dickerson said. “We just wanted to reach out to them and let them know we were thinking about them.”

Dickerson herself made 16 calls. “One of (the recipients) had just gotten back from a medical appointment, and he was just pleased we were reaching out to him,” she said. “He let me know what went on with his appointment, and I just let him talk.

“Another gentleman talked about how he had slipped away from doing things at the Legion for a little bit. But he was going to be getting back into it. He was a Legion Rider as well, and he was going to start riding with the Riders.”

The effort even garnered from NBC affiliate KTVH, who interviewed Bowen. “Do a buddy check,” Bowen said. “Don’t be afraid to make that phone call. Don’t be afraid to have that difficult conversation. You’ll be glad you did it.”

Dickerson said it was nice to have the national commander witness firsthand the Buddy Check effort. “It was amazing,” she said. “Jay Bowen is just a great person. He’s so personable. He just appreciates everything that you do, and I just appreciate that in him.”