Jason White still works every day to manage the symptoms and struggles that came home with him from Operation Desert Storm in 1993. Difficult as it can be, though, he knows that the love of his family makes him one of the lucky ones.
“My wife, my daughter, and my granddaughter are my support system,” says White, an Army veteran with a 100% disability rating based on traumatic brain injury and PTSD. “If I’m having a bad day, they’re having a bad day — they absorb that for me.”
Many struggling veterans aren’t as fortunate, and the consequences are dire: On average, 22 veterans die by suicide every day in the U.S.
Jason and Angela White founded their 22-day, 22-state ride to support veterans struggling with mental health issues.
White has long done what he could to help fellow vets — for years, he donated modest proceeds from his YouTube channel to veteran-related causes.
In 2022, he told his wife, Angela, “I want to do something big for veterans.” Nearly four years later (their efforts were delayed temporarily when Jason had a heart attack shortly after his inspiration), the couple is an organizing powerhouse as the full-time volunteer operators of Riding 22 in 22 VSA, a 501(c)(3) organization that marries their desire to help veterans with their love of motorcycle road-tripping.
They’re currently preparing for year two of their centerpiece event: a group ride across 22 states in 22 days — hence the name — that connects vets across the U.S., raising awareness about suicide risk and helping many get the intensive mental-health treatment they need.
Angela contacts local news media, arranges police escorts in and out of towns, and makes sure every day features an event. It’s often a dinner hosted by a local veterans service organization or motorcycle dealership, with proceeds to benefit the cause.
Jason scouts potential routes for stops of interest. Most days feature four to five hours of riding, with stops every hour to hour and a half. The fundraising comes from suggested participant donations of $20 per rider and $10 per passenger, as well as dinner proceeds, corporate donations, and individual contributions made throughout the year.
Those efforts paid off last year when their premier event raised $11,000, which they donated to STRIVE — Ohio State University’s Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative. STRIVE conducts research and provides clinical treatment to people at risk of suicide. Riding 22’s donation has been used to pay travel and lodging expenses for veterans coming to Columbus for R&R, the initiative’s two-week intensive intervention for veterans with trauma and suicide risk.
The relationship with Riding 22 — not just the funding, but raising awareness among the veteran community — is critical to STRIVE’s success, according to Dr. Rosie Bauder, an OSU clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral health and principal investigator for the R&R program. “Community engagement is so important in suicide prevention,” Bauder says. “It means so much, all of their work to spread the word in ways that we wouldn’t be able to.”
Much of the proceeds from this year’s ride will again go to STRIVE, but the Whites also hope to simply help more veterans to join future rides. “Riding is therapy for a lot of veterans,” Angela says, but not all can afford the lodging and meal expenses of a three-week outing.
This year’s ride, set for May 22 to June 12, heads south to Louisiana and follows the Gulf Coast for a bit before turning north all the way to Maine, then back to Ohio for a closing ceremony. Anyone who wants to support it can join, including by car. “If you want to come with us for a day or a couple of days, for one gas stop or go for the whole 22, that’s all great,” Angela says. As the effort has gained recognition, they’ve attracted more sponsors — Harley-Davidson and Polaris are on board this year — and the Whites say those are getting generally easier to secure. This year’s goal: $22,000.
Angela knew their project was on the right track from the first night of last year’s ride, when a waitress at the kickoff dinner asked what the gathering was for. “We explained the goal,” Angela says, “and a man diagonal from our booth was listening. The couple got up and both came over to us. They were both in tears. The woman opened her jacket and her T-shirt had a military insignia and the ribbon that stands for veteran suicide awareness — they had lost a son to suicide. We’re faith-based people, and for me it was a sign from God that this is what we’re supposed to be doing.”
