“The Front Line at Home”: Delaware Summit Shines a Light on Military Families and Mental Health
WILMINGTON, Del. – On September 15, 2026, the Mental Health Association in Delaware (MHA) will host the 16th Annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit at DuPont Country Club, 1001 Rockland Road, Wilmington DE 19803. The conference day begins with registration at 8:00am and ends at 3:00pm.
The Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit is hosted each year and is open and free to military servicemembers, veterans, and their families. For anyone else, the cost is just $15 for this full day conference focusing on family and support systems.
The theme is “The Front Line at Home” and presenters will discuss the role of the family in supporting our soldiers returning home with mental health and/or substance use disorders.
The conference program will begin promptly at 8:45am with opening remarks by Brigadier General (Ret.) Karen A. Berry, Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, followed by “Story from a Veteran” with Dominic Iannace, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.). The keynote speaker is Stephanie Evan, MSN, RN, CARN, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Refuge, U.S. Navy (Ret.). Evan is the Chief Executive Officer of The Refuge and a U.S. Navy veteran with more than a decade of experience in behavioral health, psychiatric nursing, and substance use treatment. A dedicated healthcare leader, she has built her career at the intersection of clinical excellence, operational leadership, and compassionate, patientcentered care.
Breakout sessions will follow, which include Tai Chi Chih demonstration, a panel on Grief, Loss, and Healing: Navigating the Journey Together, and a CEU presentation on Trauma and PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
After lunch, the Kent Johnson Memorial Award Presentation will be presented to an advocate for veterans mental health, to be determined. Following the award presentation, U.S. Army Veteran James Meehan will share his story of recovery.
Three afternoon breakout sessions will be available, two of which are certified for CEUs. The topics are “The Strength Behind the Service: A Military Family’s Perspective;” “The Long, Short Journey: From Military Service to Civilian Success;” and “From Deployment to Reconnection: Re-Adjusting the Mind, Marriage, and Mission Through the RISE Framework.”
Registration is free for military servicemembers, veterans, and their families/support systems. For anyone else, the price for registration is discounted to $15, thanks to the generous donations of our sponsors. Go to https://tinyurl.com/57dyypkk to purchase tickets for this event.
Sponsors for this event include Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH), Winner Subaru & Volkswagen, Bayhealth, MeadowWood, Rockford Center, Nemours Children’s Health, SUN Behavioral Delaware, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Acadia Healthcare Service Resiliency Unit (SRU), Humana Military, Dover Behavioral Health System, Behavioral Health Consortium Delaware, The Wawa Foundation, Youth for Tomorrow, SANARE, atTAcK addiction, Discovery Behavioral Health, Hampton Behavioral Health, KeyStone Center, Peak Mental Health, Avenues Recovery, The Recovery Village, Prime Purpose Coaching, Key 2 Clarity Counseling Services, CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, ACLU Delaware, Diamond State Counseling, and Savida Health. MHA would also like to thank Dylan and Sarah Stracke for their in-kind support.
MHA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to improve mental well-being for all Delaware residents through education, support, and advocacy. The organization, founded in 1932, is an affiliate of Mental Health America, providing a wide array of mental health services including wellness groups, suicide prevention trainings, and community mental health conferences. For more information, call 302-654-6833 or visit www.mhainde.org.