If you happen to be in Los Angeles on May 22 you should make a point to come see comedian Jessica Michelle Singleton and a stellar lineup to include Tim Dillon and Brad Wiliams. Jessica will be donating a portion of ticket sales to our organization. She shared, “I’m excited to have a way to introduce people to a cause that is heavy, in what feels like the lightest way possible. To raise awareness, to let people know about this, what is going on, and steps being taken to make it better.”
For Jessica, this comedy show isn’t just another evening of hilarity and choosing to support our mission is not by happenstance. It is because the problem of suicide within the military community is deeply personal to her as she lost her brother Nate, an army veteran, to suicide in March.
“I called him Nathan and he probably hated it.” In typical brother and sister fashion Jessica and her brother had a push and pull to the relationship. “I was such an embarrassing dorky older sister. He wanted to be cool.”
Growing up, Nathan (Nate) and Jessica were part of a “big ol’ blended family” that showed love by ragging on each other, teasing, and yes, it often included humor. Nate was a super cool, skater and snowboarding kind of guy. He was easy to like, fun to be with, and had a great group of friends.
As they aged, Jessica moved away to college and Nate joined the military. She isn’t entirely sure what led Nate to join, but they do have generations of military service within their family’s history. For four years Nate served in Afghanistan. It was during that time that they were the most connected. Jessica recalls thinking, “He was in a war zone, I needed to check on him.” Meanwhile, her comedy career was gaining traction but all the while, she was keeping tabs on Nate.
Nate concluded his military service in 2012. “He got back and he was doing really well for a while. He met a girl and he had a kid.” Another landmark moment in their relationship was in 2017 when he popped up at a show she was at in Sacramento. Nate had friends with him and Jessica chuckled as she shared how proud he was that, “his annoying big sister was on a show with all these cool people.”
But then as time went on, things changed. Communications with Nate became more sporadic. It would be long stretches of time, and many unanswered messages, before Jessica would hear back. Often he’d simply share that he was, “trying to figure things out.” She describes him as a good guy who was just a little lost.
Then, in March 2025, Jessica received word that Nate had died by suicide.
“He mattered,” she said. “And, I think for a moment he forgot that he mattered. I wish he had called someone and said, ‘I’m having a moment. Can you be with me until it passes?’” Nate absolutely mattered and we know that he still matters deeply to Jessica and to so many others.
As Jessica walks forward as a loss survivor she is feeling the need to take action and do something with the lingering loss and grief. Part of her healing journey is to do one of the things that she does best - make others laugh.
“Laughter is very healing,” she explained. “To me, that’s a form of connection. The idea that I can connect people over a cause that is about helping other people find connection is really important to me.”
She also feels adamant that we have to talk about suicide and unashamedly say the word. “Silence isn’t going to save anyone,” she emphasized. In part, she was drawn to our organization because our name is “to the point.” As she read more about our work, she saw that we put action around this issue and that also resonated with her.
We stand with Jessica as she uses her loss and grief as fuel forward in the fight for veterans and service members and also as a way to keep Nate’s memory alive. “Laughter can’t fix everything but it can help the soul,” Jessica shared. In this case, it can also help raise awareness, generate support, and advance our mission to solve the problem of suicide within the military community.