Projects designed to scour a veteran’s digital footprint for clues on what contributed to their taking their own lives and to provide Native American veterans with mental health counseling tailored to their cultures won the top prize in the Department of Veterans Affairs' "Grand Challenge" aimed at finding new approaches to suicide prevention.

Televeda's Project Hózhó and Stop Soldier Suicide's Black Box Project and will each get $3 million to continue their development, courtesy of the VA's Mission Daybreak program.

"What really struck us in the top two prize winners was their dedication to learning and their curiosity to partnering with veterans and communities to build out a promising solution," Amanda Lienau, director of data analytics and innovation at the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem, told reporters in a briefing announcing the winners Tuesday. "Their willingness to engage deeply and to take the perspective of veterans and people who are deeply steeped in this work as they developed their solution was really powerful and impactful. What really struck us in the top two prize winners was their dedication to learning and their curiosity to partnering with veterans and communities to build out a promising solution," Amanda Lienau, director of data analytics and innovation at the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem, told reporters in a briefing announcing the winners Tuesday. "Their willingness to engage deeply and to take the perspective of veterans and people who are deeply steeped in this work as they developed their solution was really powerful and impactful."

The VA launched Mission Daybreak last year with the goal of seeking fresh ideas to combat the epidemic of suicide, which has declined in recent years but still kills an average of nearly 17 veterans a day.

With a total of $20 million up for grabs, more than 1,300 proposals were entered into the contest. In September, that was whittled down to 30 finalists, who then presented their projects to judges, VA officials, the media and others at a "Demo Day" in November.

Televeda's Project Hózhó is creating a web-based application where Native Americans can participate in a support group that resembles a traditional storytelling circle. The program will first roll out in Navajo Nation, with plans for later testing in the Apache, Hopi and Lakota tribes, said Mayank Mishra, co-founder and chief technology officer of Televeda.

"With the Navajo Nation, mental health is a community issue," Mishra said in a phone interview with Military.com. "They get together by the fireplace and talk to each other about life and their stories and how they can uplift each other as a community. And so we're really doing what the people have been asking for quite some time."

The prize money will help Televeda with the first phase of the project, which includes updating Navajo Nation's digital infrastructure and recruiting Navajo veterans to lead the storytelling sessions and train them in suicide intervention strategies, Mishra said. The storytelling circles themselves should be up and running in about six months, he added.

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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.

www.televeda.com

Media Inquiries: info@televeda.com

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