A public gathering to explain and discuss threats associated with post-traumatic stress disorder is planned in Salina. The event will be held  tonight from 6:30 to 9 p.m.  at the The Temple, 336 S. Santa Fe.

Vietnam Veterans of America, Salina Chapter 809, is hosting a PTSD/Suicide Town Hall. An estimated 20 veterans a day end their lives from PTSD, said Jim Deister, VVA chapter president in Salina, but it is a problem that affects all walks of life.

Expert speakers include Thomas C. Hall, PhD. of Kansas City, director of PTSD and substance abuse for the VVA, and Maureen Elias, of Los Angeles, an Army veteran and assistant director of the Veterans Health Council.

A panel of local therapists and counselors will answer questions from the audience.

The Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office mobile van will be parked in The Temple parking lot that afternoon and evening.

The town hall will be in The Temple’s theater on the third floor. For those with difficulty climbing stairs, enter the red door on the North West side of The Temple, and volunteers will assist with transit to the elevator.