Suicide is a serious public health issue that has a disproportionate impact on the Veteran community. Preventing Veteran suicide is VA’s top clinical priority and a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration.

This month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced 10 winners of Mission Daybreak, a $20 million grand challenge to reduce Veteran suicides. Mission Daybreak is part of VA’s 10-year strategy to end Veteran suicide through a comprehensive, public health approach. The grand challenge, designed and produced by Luminary Labs through a contract with Capital Consulting Corporation, is one of the largest cash prize purses in federal history.

“Our Veterans need and deserve suicide prevention solutions that meet them where they are, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s exactly what Mission Daybreak has delivered,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D. “By drawing on a range of focus areas and life experiences, the Mission Daybreak winners have developed innovations that will save Veterans’ lives — and there’s nothing more important than that.”

Suicide has no single cause, and no single strategy can end this complex problem. That’s why Mission Daybreak engaged a diverse group of innovators and fostered solutions across a broad spectrum of focus areas. The multiphase challenge launched in May 2022 and received more than 1,300 concept submissions in Phase 1 from Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, community-based organizations, health technology companies, startups, and universities — with solutions ranging from lethal means safety concepts, to targeted virtual care programs, to other promising suicide prevention solutions that offer healing and recovery to Veterans.

Televeda's Project Hózhó is the first mental health app and comprehensive operational plan for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations. Televeda designed the tool in partnership with AIAN and Veteran communities for Navajo Veterans with plans to adapt and expand for use with other tribes. The solution incorporates traditional healing practices like storytelling and talking-circle interventions to reduce Veteran suicide and improve access to VA resources.

Read the full article here and learn more about the intiative.

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About Televëda:

Televëda's mission is to reduce social isolation and loneliness by building and supporting growing virtual communities. Founded in 2018 and based in Arizona, we serve people in more than 26 states, partner with over 125 community-based organizations, and have delivered thousands of hours of programming to bring people together, regardless of age, digital literacy, physical ability, or location.

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