On September 9, leaders from and down New Jersey convened the Governor’s Challenge Fall Summit at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in Newark’s Branch Brook Park. September is National Suicide Prevention Month and the event demonstrated the broad-based commitment of public and private partners to increase mental health resilience and reduce suicide among service members, veterans, and their families.

Formally known as the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families, the Governor’s Challenge was established in 2020 to implement the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Today, every state and territory in the United States have convened similar programs with the goal of using data and other measurable outcomes to drive the development of new programs and policies to reduce the number of military community members who die by suicide.

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Hayes, the program manager responsible for the Governor’s Challenge, praised the work of the all-volunteer team and thanked each member for their focus on identifying at-risk individuals and getting them enrolled in healthcare, building connectedness in communities, increased awareness of lethal means safety, and persistent, statewide engagement with diverse groups of faith leaders.

"Our work in Governor’s Challenge has grown into a major project in New Jersey now with clear structure, leadership, partnerships, and assertive momentum,” said Dr. Hayes. “The outcomes of our efforts demonstrate what we can achieve when we work together.”

The event also included a variety of speakers, including U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Mark A. Graham, who serves as both the Executive Director at the UBHC National Call Center at Rutgers University and the Director of Vets4Warriors, Commissioner Vincent Solomeno, State Senator Teresa Ruiz, and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.

“This has been a collaborative effort that has yielded results for veterans and their family members here in New Jersey,” Solomeno said.

The focus of the day was expanding upon the successful initiative through coordinated statewide partnerships with government, healthcare, community, and veteran-serving organizations, and other partners all working toward the same objective. The goal now moves from a planning stage to one of implementation, with the focus shifting to turning the work of the Governor’s Challenge into practical statewide actions that can benefit New Jersey’s service members, veterans, and their families. For more photos of the summit, click here.