Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
The Walk the Talk America Podcast is where firearm culture and mental health meet with curiosity, not confrontation.
Each episode brings together voices from the firearm community, mental health professionals, researchers, and everyday gun owners to have honest conversations about suicide prevention, culture, and practical solutions.
We focus on education over outrage, nuance over noise, and collaboration over division, because reducing negative outcomes requires diverse perspectives.
And because this work is personal, every episode closes with a simple but powerful question: How do you stay mentally healthy?
Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
Ep 152: Dwayne Edwards on Changing Veteran Mental Health
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What happens after the mission ends? In this episode, we sit down with Marine Corps veteran and founder of VMHA, Dwayne Edwards, for an honest conversation about life after service, the identity crisis many veterans face, and why our system still fails to meet their mental health needs.
Dwayne shares his journey from growing up in Jamaica and navigating Brooklyn as a kid, to leading Marines in Iraq and later reinventing himself at Yale. He talks about the cultural pressure veterans face when seeking help, how “claim sharks” exploit those who’ve served, and how VMHA is disrupting the system by providing ethical, transparent, and high-quality mental health assessments.
We also dig into the overlap of firearms, identity, and mental wellness, and why removing stigma is more important than ever.
Whether you're a veteran, know someone who is, or simply care about building better systems for those who’ve served, this episode will challenge and inspire.
🎧 Listen if you’re curious about:
- Why the transition out of the military is harder than people think
- The roots of VMHA and how it's doing things differently
- Mental health stigma in the veteran community
- The tension between firearms and mental wellness
- What civilian allies and organizations can do better
🔗 Connect with Dwayne and VMHA:
Website: https://vmhaforvets.com
Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube: @vmhaforvets
