By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
Here Comes the Sun, la, di, da, da, da here comes the sun & I say – this is awesome SECVA*!
Mission: DAYBREAK has commenced! It’s time to proactively help the VA meet her mission to help millions of veterans & our nation, as a whole.
It’s a $20 million challenge designed to help the VA develop new suicide prevention strategies for Veterans.
Washington DC announced Mission Daybreak as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 10-year strategy, to reduce Veteran suicide. VA invites innovators (veterans, researchers, technologists, advocates, clinicians & you (if you’ve got an idea or two that might help) from across the country to enter the challenge. It’s important work and I applaud our VA and Mr. McDonough, SECVA (*Secretary of Veterans Administration) for this brave and direct concept of collaboration that will impact greatly upon the lives and quality of life for veterans everywhere. I often say that the veteran population is the microcosm, data pool and predictor of the national macrocosm of the USA; what is learned from us active duty military & veterans translates to the general public eventually, not just the good, but also terrifying warnings can be seen in the data trends of the warrior population alerting leaders to take action to prevent things like veteran’s suicide, reducing and eradicating those kind of events within the microcosm and halt viral spread into the larger macrocosm.
Innovators, instigators and interested parties are encouraged to submit their detailed concept papers via missiondaybreak.net to VA no later than July 8, 2022.
“The effort supports the goals of President Biden’s Unity Agenda and aligns with the priority goals and implementation principles of the White House strategy on reducing military and Veteran suicide.” (VA.gov)
“To end Veteran suicide, we need to use every tool available,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “In the most recent National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report more than 45,000 American adults died by suicide — including 6,261 Veterans.”
Veterans, according to the 2019 Census, comprise only 6.8% of the nation’s population yet sadly make up over 14% of all completed suicides nationwide. “That’s why Mission Daybreak is fostering solutions across a broad spectrum of focus areas to combat this preventable problem.” McDonough continues.
It’s Memorial Day weekend, which is difficult for the veteran population at most risk for suicide. This bit of hope and what it will produce aims to reduce that risk in an inventive, collaborative way that engages brilliant American minds from across the aisles of division in reaching a long overdue, unified solution.
I really could not be more proud of our Veterans Administration on this initiative and for making such a transparent and powerful move in asking for help from The People. With over 22 suicides a day for such a small population, it’s overwhelming in print alone. Tackling it calls for reinforcements & allied participation, because human lives are at stake.
The call to duty has sounded. Will you answer the call?
To learn more, register for the upcoming virtual information session and topical webinars. Forty teams will receive awards ranging from $100,000 to $3 million which will be distributed across two phases.
Visit missiondaybreak.net for more information on the challenge.
If you’re a Veteran having thoughts of suicide or you know one who is, contact the Veterans Crisis Line 24/7/365 days a year Call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online at veteranscrisisline.net/Chat or text to 838255.
Don’t forget that today at Jack Brooks Park, is the Vietnam Veterans of America #685’s, 28th Annual Watchfire event I wrote about in detail last week. We’d certainly love to see you there. The event begins at 6:00pm.
Dorothy Meindok is the Veterans Consultant for The Post Newspaper. She served in the United States Navy and is currently a lawyer advocating for the rights of our nation’s veterans.
