Main Priorities
Priority 1: Identify Service Members, Veterans and Their Families (SMVF) and Screen for Suicide Risk
Team Lead: Lauren Stentz
GOALS:
- Identify Florida’s Veterans to increase opportunities for contact and referral to relevant resources
- Make Veterans aware of mental health resources during a critical point of increased suicide risk (separation from the military)
- Implement standardized screening for SMVF status and suicide risk in clinical and medical settings
- Involve non-VA, non-medical, and non-clinical community partners in asking about SMVF status, noticing suicide risk red flags, and referring individuals at-risk to care
Main Initiatives:
- Add mental health resource-related wording to the DVA letter sent to all new Veterans declaring Florida as their state of residence
- Adding mental health resource-related wording to the email sent to every individual that identifies themselves as a Veteran at the DMV
- Devise a formalized training for civilians and laypersons so that they can: 1) Be informed about the unique experience of Veterans; 2) Learn how to recognize the red flags for suicide risk
Priority 2: Promote Connectedness and Improve Care Transitions
Team Lead: Nick Howland
GOALS:
- Improve awareness of resources, services and benefits available to SMVF
- Improve access to resources, services, and benefits available to SMVF
- Improve coverage and usage of resources, services and benefits available to SMVF
Main Initiatives:
- Create a comprehensive, searchable database of region-specific resources relevant to Veterans
Priority 3: Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Suicide Prevention for Service Members, Military, Veterans and Family Members (SMVF)
Team Lead: Lynn Schultz
GOALS:
- Develop and execute a cohesive Governor’s Challenge outreach, advertising, and media campaign
- Promote Veteran outreach that is consistent with personal preferences
- Ensure engaged, Veteran-focused participation from organizations
- Use a Public Health approach to ensure impact on all levels of social ecology (individual relationships, community and societal)
Main Initiatives:
- Develop a comprehensive advertising and media campaign to make the public aware of Governor’s Challenge efforts and resources, and disseminate educational information
- Establish a designation for all organizations that significantly partner with the Florida Governor’s Challenge Team
Priority 4: Lethal Means Safety and Safety Planning
Team Lead: Walter Sachs
GOALS:
- Expand the gun lock distribution program in Florida
- Ensure inclusion of consistent, comprehensive means safety messaging in Governor’s Challenge overall messaging campaign
- Increase Narcan distribution to additional communities and organizations not already receiving distribution today
- Increase attention paid to medication as lethal means
- Promote, disseminate, and provide education surrounding the VA’s new Safety Planning App
Main Initiatives:
- Expand gun lock distribution efforts in Florida
- Highlight existing medication drop off boxes
- Expand Narcan distribution
- Develop and disseminate a means safety campaign
- Promote safety planning as part of means safety via the VA’s safety planning app