West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District Candidate, Matt Detch, has been participating in the #22PushUps Challenge, traveling around West Virginia doing 22 push-ups at Veterans Memorials to create awareness for veteran suicide. Detch has already done over 300 push-ups at 16 locations. Each day, Matt has posted a video of him doing the push-ups. As of today, the videos have over 7,000 views. On Wednesday, Detch did push-ups at the West Virginia State Fair at the Vietnam Veterans’ Mobile Wall Memorial.
An average of 22 veterans commit suicide every day. The #22PushUps Online Challenge was started by Honor Courage Commitment, Inc. to bridge the gap between veterans and civilians and build a community of support. The challenge is similar to the “Ice Bucket Challenge” that created awareness for ALS in 2014.
A spokesperson from the Detch Campaign said, “Matt is a veterans’ advocate and believes we need more programs for veterans – this includes educational programs, job training and therapy/counseling. Matt is also an advocate for mental health. The #22PushUps Challenge creates awareness for both veterans and mental health.”
