If Wareham’s Joseph Mullin can help save just one life, he’ll go the distance to do it: 2,000 miles to be exact, and in a kayak.

Mullin will travel from Yarmouth to Key West, Florida to raise money for Mission 22: an organization that helps raise awareness about veteran suicides.

According to data released by the Veterans Affairs Department, approximately 18-22 veterans take their lives each day as a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Mission 22’s goal is to prevent veterans from committing suicide.

“I'm thinking of all the guys coming back and what they're going through, and they're not getting help,” said Mullin. “Hopefully I can help some of them, if not all of them.”

A veteran himself, Mullin has PTSD from certain life experiences and from his career in underwater recovery, so he speaks from experience.

“If you can, try to imagine that you have 20 to 30 different feelings happening at the same time, you don't know which one to start with: there's depression, there's anxiety, there's confusion, there's fight or flight and all this is happening at once.”

Mullin said the transition from the battlefield to home was traumatic for Vietnam War veterans, who often had little time to adjust from the constant stress.

“In the service, you're taught to be strong... asking for help is a sign of weakness,” he said. “It takes a much stronger person to ask for help than it does to carry the weight.”

He hopes his journey will inspire people to donate to Mission 22 to help combat the nationwide problem.

He's currently preparing for his journey by paddling distances up to 40 miles around the area. Mullin launches from Parkwood Beach and kayaks to Ned's Point in Mattapoisett, sometimes venturing out even farther.

His trips have caused alarm for some observers, but he always assures them that he knows what he's doing.

Mullin has been on the water his whole life: from surfing to diving, and now kayaking. Additionally, Mullin is all geared up for the journey. Mullin will travel from May to December, and he's packing everything he needs the entire way.

From dried food and titanium survival knives to marine radios and emergency broadcast signalers, Mullin has packed more than 60 pounds of necessities and emergency gear. But, Mullin said, the most important thing on his kayak is the American flag.

He plans to camp along the way and brought his sleeping bag, a tent and tarp to keep dry.

When asked how he would take showers and stay clean, Mullin responded with enthusiasm: “Unscented baby wipes.”

To support Mullin and support the cause, donate to www.mission22.networkforgood.com.

As for his fellow veterans, Mullin encourages them: “Ask for the help. Come and seek it. You're not weak, you're a stronger person.”

And for families of veterans with PTSD, he said, “If you haven't lived it, you can't understand it, you can't comprehend it. Stay with them. Give them time.”