Suicide prevention beyond crisis response
restoring identity, purpose, meaning & belonging
ABOUT RRI
Suicide prevention beyond crisis response
Restoring identity, purpose, meaning & belonging.
The Resilience & Restoration Institute develops research-informed suicide prevention education, curriculum, publications, and community-based programming for veterans, first responders, families, and communities.
RRI grew from doctoral research examining suicide as a complex human and societal phenomenon—not simply the endpoint of mental illness. Our work focuses on the systems that can deteriorate long before a person reaches suicidal crisis: identity, purpose, meaning, belonging, relationships, moral injury, social connection, agency, and hope.
We believe crisis intervention matters. But preventing suicide cannot begin only when someone reaches the edge. RRI works further upstream—translating suicide research, lived experience, community knowledge, and evidence-informed practices into practical tools ordinary people can understand and use. That broader public-health orientation is consistent with longstanding suicide-prevention literature emphasizing that clinical intervention alone cannot reach everyone at risk and that community-level prevention is necessary. The military and veteran literature likewise emphasizes the interaction of psychological, social, cultural, identity, and contextual factors rather than a single-cause model of suicide.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND RRI
John D. Batemon, Ph.D. — Founder / Research & Curriculum Development
John's work focuses on suicide prevention, trauma, moral injury, identity disruption, post-traumatic growth, and the transition from crisis intervention toward systems-based prevention. His doctoral research became the foundation for RRI's RESTORE curriculum and the broader Systems Map of Suicide project.
A U.S. Army combat veteran and national college professor, John brings together academic research, veteran culture, lived experience, crisis-response work, and community implementation. His work at RRI centers on translating complex suicide science into practical frameworks that veterans, families, first responders, community organizations, and non-clinical supporters can actually use.
Valerie Garmon - Vice President | Behavioral Health & Community Programs
Valerie Garmon brings direct behavioral-health experience across community mental health, veteran services, and trauma-focused care. Her professional experience includes work with Easterseals, Warrior Healing Center, and SEA Behavioral Health Services, supporting individuals and families across a range of behavioral-health and psychosocial needs.
She is certified in Brainspotting and Internal Family Systems (IFS) approaches and is currently completing her Master of Social Work (MSW). Her developing clinical background is complemented by extensive experience in community engagement, program development, organizational leadership, and translating supportive services into practical, accessible interventions.
At RRI, Valerie helps bridge research, trauma-informed practice, and real-world community implementation. Her work supports curriculum development, facilitator preparation, community partnerships, and the creation of programs that recognize suicide prevention as more than crisis management—addressing the relational, social, and identity-based systems that help people remain connected to life.
Together with RRI's research and educational mission, Valerie's behavioral-health perspective helps ensure that programs are not only academically grounded, but human, usable, culturally responsive, and capable of functioning in the communities they are designed to serve.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
RRI's current and forthcoming work includes the RESTORE suicide prevention curriculum, a veteran-focused Systems Map of Suicide volume projected for December 2026, an emergency-services volume for law enforcement, fire, EMS, dispatch, and corrections projected for April 2027, and subsequent civilian and adolescent prevention resources. Future initiatives include crisis/response certification, community implementation partnerships, continuing research and evaluation, and retreat-based resilience and restoration programming.
Bring RRI to Your Community
Interested in the next veteran or community course? Contact us to ask about enrollment, hosting a class, partnership opportunities, or bringing RRI’s research-informed suicide prevention and resilience curriculum tailored to your organization / patrons.