Military & Veterans Suicide Prevention Subcommittee
The Military and Veterans Suicide Prevention Subcommittee’s mission is to promote emotional well-being within the greater military community and provide mental health education and suicide awareness.
Photo Credit: Dream Art Studio
2026 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit
The 16th Annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit was held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at the DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, DE. This year’s theme was “Front Line at Home.” Around 215 people attended this full-day summit, including vendors from various community organizations that focus on behavioral health and other support services for those in the SMVF (Service Members, Veterans and their Families) community.
The day started with the Presentation of Colors which was led by Caesar Rodney High School’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC). This was followed by opening remarks led by Brigadier General (Ret.) Karen Berry, Secretary of Veteran Affairs. Our Keynote Address was delivered by Stephanie Evan, MSN, RN, who is the Chief Executive Officer of The Refuge and a U.S. Navy Veteran.
Presentations included: Stories from Veterans, Mindful Movement (T’ai Chi Chih), Navigating Grief, Loss & Healing, Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Military & Veteran Populations, Family Presentation on Suicide Loss, the Strength Behind the Service: A Military Family’s Perspective, The Long, Short Journey: From Military to Civilian Success, and From Deployment to Reconnection: Re-Adjusting the Mind, Marriage, and Mission Through the RISE Framework.
This year’s recipient of the Kent Johnson Memorial Award was April Hitchens, Clinical Social Worker. To help the community, summit participants donated a car full of items to the Food Bank of Delaware.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Thank you to our sponsors!
Thank you to our sponsors for making the 2026 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit possible!
DSAMH (Mission Champion Sponsor) • VA Medical Center (Gratitude Sponsor) • Acadia SRU (POW/MIA Chair of Honor Sponsor) • Behavioral Health Consortium (Air Force Sponsor) • Humana Military (Dover 436th Airlift Wing Sponsor) • Dover Behavioral Health System (Army Sponsor) • Wawa (Audiovisual Sponsor) • SUN Behavioral Delaware (Support Spot Sponsor) • Winner Subaru (Gold Annual Sponsor) • Bayhealth (Gold Annual Sponsor) • MeadowWood Behavioral Health Hospital (Silver Annual Sponsor) • Rockford Center (Silver Annual Sponsor) • Peak Mental Health (Beverage Sponsor) • Nemours Children’s Health (Core Sponsor) • Recovery Village at Cherry Hill (Beverage Sponsor) • Charlie Health (Beverage Sponsor) • Avenues Recovery (Beverage Sponsor) • Poplar Springs Hospital (Beverage Sponsor) • KeyStone Center (Registration Sponsor) • Discovery Behavioral Health (Registration Sponsor) • atTAcK addiction (Registration Sponsor) • Hampton Behavioral Health Westampton NJ (Registration Sponsor) • Sanare (Registration Sponsor) • Youth for Tomorrow (Registration Sponsor) • CAMP Rehoboth (Scholarship Sponsor) • Faith Forward Collaborative (Scholarship Sponsor) • SaVida Health (Registration Sponsor) • ACLU Delaware (Scholarship Sponsor) • KidsPeace (Scholarship Sponsor) • Key 2 Clarity Counseling Services (Scholarship Sponsor) • Prime Purpose Coaching (Scholarship Sponsor) • Diamond State Counseling (Registration Sponsor) • Irreverent Warriors (Scholarship Sponsor) • Delaware Division of Human and Civil Rights (Scholarship Sponsor) • Dylan and Sarah Stracke (In-Kind Sponsor)
2025 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit
The 15th Annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit was held Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at the DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, DE. With the theme “Mission Resilience: Navigating Trauma,” the sold-out, full-day event welcomed nearly 300 attendees, including community organizations supporting the SMVF (Service Members, Veterans and their Families) community.
The day began with the Presentation of Colors by Christiana High School’s Junior ROTC Color Guard, followed by opening remarks from Major General James A. Boston, Dr. Rick Hong, State Representative William J. Carson, and Brian DiSabatino. Chief Warrant Officer Michael Tapp, US Coast Guard, Retired, delivered the keynote address.
Sessions covered topics including veteran experiences, mindfulness and breathwork, moral injury and resilience, military sexual trauma, Wounded Warrior Project services, engaging veterans, intimate partner violence, life after service, and Project Refit.
Freddy Lee Allen, Jr. received this year’s Kent Johnson Memorial Award. Summit participants also supported the community by donating a carload of items to the Food Bank of Delaware.
2024 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit
The 14th Annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit was held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at the Riverfront Events Center in Wilmington, DE. This year’s theme was “Unraveling the Web of Homelessness.” Close to 200 people attended this full-day summit, including vendors from various community organizations that focus on behavioral health and other support services for those in the SMVF (Service Members, Veterans and their Families) community. The day kicked off with the Presentation of Colors which was led by cadets from the Delaware Military Academy. Major General Michael R. Berry from the Delaware Army National Guard and Vamsee Potluri, Director of the Wilmington VA Medical Center, provided opening remarks. Presentations included: VA Resources to End Homelessness, T’AI CHI CHIH, the Veterans Justice Program, Forming Partnerships to Move Veterans out of Homelessness, and an overview of the Delaware Center for Homeless Veterans.
2023 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit
On Tuesday, September 12th, 2023, the annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit was held at the Riverfront Events Center in Wilmington, DE. Over 150 veterans, providers and community members gathered to learn more about substance use and its impact on the military community. Dr. Jessica Martin from the Oklahoma City VA delivered the keynote address titled “SUD Treatment Implications amongst Veteran Populations with Co-Occurring Disorders”. Chaplain Van Alstyne; Anthony “Joey” Damiano, LCSW, CPRP; Dr. Dan Lache; and Michael Skiles discussed during the “Maintaining Hope Through Treatment” panel session, in which they explored a holistic approach to substance use recovery. And lastly, Michael Skiles gave the “Hear from a Veteran” presentation.
2022 Military & Veterans Suicide Prevention Conference
On Wednesday, September 7th, 2022, the Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition’s Military Subcommittee hosted the 2022 Military & Veterans Suicide Prevention Conference. The conference was held at the Delaware National Guard training site in Bethany Beach, Delaware. The Adjutant General, Major General Michael R. Berry, and Vince Kane of the Wilmington VAMC provided opening remarks. The half-day conference covered topics such as: Suicide Prevention 2.0 (VA updates on suicide prevention), the Governor’s Challenge, 988, and the VA’s suicide prevention training – S.A.V.E. Thank you to our presenters Jaclyn Tomasetti, Matthew Jacobs and Dr. Claire Wang. Jessica Lewis led the group in a Tai Chi demonstration.
2020 Military & Veterans
Mental Health Summit
In 2020, the Military and Veterans Mental Health Summit was held virtually from August 31st to September 4th, 2020. The summit kicked off with opening remarks from Vincent Kane, the Director of the Wilmington VAMC; Dr. Larence Kirby, LPCMH, the Director of the Delaware Office of Veteran Services; Col. Shanon Anderson, the Vice Wing Commander at the Dover Air Force Base; and Bethany Hall-Long, the Lieutenant Governor. Then, Dr. Larence Kirby, LPCMH delivered the keynote titled “Veterans Perceptions of Behavioral Health Services”. Following the keynote were four presentations: Michael Selby’s “Virtual Resources and Telehealth”; Nancy McGee & Lauren Unrath’s "Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and the Crisis Hotline”; Susana Cebula’s “Personal Self-Care”; and Dr. Craig W. Gilbert’s “Cognitive Approach to Resiliency”.