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 159: From Loss to Leadership: The Scott Sippel Foundation’s Fight for Suicide Prevention
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
RG Stitt and Greg Harpster join us from the Scott Sippel Foundation—an organization born from tragedy that’s now raised nearly $600,000 for mental health and suicide prevention. We talk about honoring their friend Scott, why local boots-on-the-ground efforts matter, and how a community sporting clays event became a powerful engine for change.
You’ll hear:
- How the Foundation identifies smaller, volunteer-driven groups so more funds reach real programs
- Why rural areas need tailored mental health support, and what’s working
- This year’s focus on LEEK, a veterans outdoor program, and other beneficiaries over the years
- Practical ways to tend your own mental health, from daily walks to simple breathing practices learned at Outdoor Odyssey
- How the firearms community quietly shows up to save lives
Chapters
00:00 – Cold Open: Glitches & Getting Live
00:55 – Welcome Back + Today’s Guests
02:25 – WTTA’s Early Days & First Connection to Scott Sippel Foundation
05:08 – Intros: RG Stitt & Greg Harpster
07:11 – What the Foundation Funds & Why Local Matters
09:18 – Building Crisis Lines in PA (Penn State region)
13:29 – Rural Realities: Suicide vs. “Gun Violence”
15:29 – Counterintuitive? Guns, Community, and Prevention
21:00 – Remembering Scott: Stories, Friendship, and Loss
27:34 – Aftermath & The Questions No One Can Answer
31:06 – Spotting Subtle Signs in Hindsight
37:55 – From Grief to Action: Launching the Clay Shoot
41:26 – Organic Growth: Community, Word of Mouth, Full Rosters
42:51 – Sponsors That Show Up (ammo, firearms, food, more)
49:42 – Event Logistics, Timing, & Volunteer Hustle
57:42 – Where to Learn/Donate: scottsippelfoundation.org
58:35 – How We Tend Our Own Mental Health (walks, breathing, mindset)
1:02:41 – Open Invite & Closing Thanks
