COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS’ SERVICES
600 Washington Street, 7th floor
Boston, MA 02111
TEL: (617) 210-5480 FAX: (617) 210-5755 TTY: (617) 210-5883
www.mass.gov/veterans
MAURA T. HEALEY JON SANTIAGO, MD, MPH
GOVERNOR SECRETARY
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
January 3, 2024
Steven T. James
House Clerk
State House, Room 145
Boston, MA 02133
Michael D. Hurley
Senate Clerk
State House, Room 335
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Clerk James and Clerk Hurley,
Pursuant to Section 77 of Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022, An Act Addressing Barriers to Care
for Mental Health, please find enclosed a report provided by the Veterans Reintegration
Advisory Committee entitled “An examination of suicide among veterans and their reintegration
into society”.
Sincerely,
Jon Santiago
CC:
Senator John Velis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs and the
Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery
Representative Gerard Cassidy, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal
Affairs
Representative Adrian Madaro, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health,
Substance Use, and Recovery
 An Examination of Suicide among
Veterans and their Reintegration into
Society
December 2023
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Legislative Mandate
The following report is issued pursuant to Section 77 of Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022, An Act
Addressing Barriers To Care For Mental Health summarized as follows:
(a) The department of veterans’ services shall convene an advisory committee that shall consist
of: 2 representatives of the Massachusetts chapter of Team Red, White & Blue; 2
representatives of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Home Base
Program; 2 representatives of the Wounded Warriors Project; 2 representatives of the Mass
Mentoring Partnership, Inc.; 2 representatives of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide
Prevention; 2 representatives of the Massachusetts Psychological Association, Inc.; and such
other members as the committee deems necessary. The members of the committee shall have
experience in mental health or veterans’ support services with an emphasis on treatment of
post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety among veterans.
(b) The committee, in coordination with the department of veterans’ services and the
department of mental health, shall investigate and study: (i) ways to augment services to
returning veterans to reduce the rate of suicide and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder,
depression and anxiety; and (ii) the complexity of reintegration into civilian life and issues
related to isolation and suicide among veterans.
The committee shall provide support and expertise to reduce isolation and suicide among
returning veterans.
The committee shall examine: (i) the impact of having a community peer liaison on a veteran’s
reintegration into society; (ii) the relationship between isolation and suicide among veterans;
and (iii) the impact of having a community peer liaison on symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression and anxiety in diagnosed veterans.
The committee shall file a report of its findings and any recommendations, with the clerks of the
senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on veterans and federal affairs and
the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery.
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Introduction
Suicide affects Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) at higher rates than the
general population and has widely been recognized as a public health concern for decades.
The Veterans Reintegration Advisory Committee (VRAC), created through a legislative mandate,
acknowledges and appreciates the Legislature’s longstanding commitment to SMVF. In recent
years, through the Governor’s Challenge to address SMVF suicide, many members of VRAC
worked hard to build bridges and have excellent collaborative relationships. This legislative
mandate provided further incentive to break down silos and expand and formalize
collaborations with private sector partners, including Home Base at MGH, Wounded Warrior
Project, and William James College. VRAC has elevated important voices of those who work
tirelessly and those who are too often isolated and unrecognized. This report elevates the
voices of those who provide critical support to one of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable
populations: service members, veterans, and their families. Collectively, VRAC recognizes both
the vast need and the deep passion and commitment of the entire membership. Together, the
Committee found inspiration and opportunities to amplify the work of others rather than
reinventing or duplicating efforts.
With a focus on subject-matter expertise and the guidelines set forth by Section 77 of Chapter
177 of the Acts of 2022, the Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS), in coordination with
the Department of Mental Health (DMH), appointed a dedicated group of experts from both
the healthcare and veteran communities with long-standing experience working on behalf of
SMVF from across the Commonwealth to serve on VRAC. Additional members were
recommended by the VRAC Co-Chairs and the Secretary of EOVS, which expanded VRAC’s
depth of knowledge and provided the Committee with a deeper understanding of the SMVF
community. The membership hails from both the private and public sector, and both the state
and federal level. The working group was comprised of behavioral health professionals
including clinical psychologists, licensed social workers, and certified peer specialists; Veterans
Service Officers (VSO); veterans with overseas deployments, active-duty service members,
national guard members; and suicide prevention experts. VRAC was entrusted with actively
investigating, studying, and scrutinizing various aspects of veterans’ reintegration into civilian
life with the goal of reducing suicide rates and addressing the profound effects of post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety among veterans.
The co-chairs, organizations, and members of VRAC are listed below:
Dr. John Rodolico (Co-Chair), Executive Office of Veterans Services – John Rodolico is an Army
Reserve and Massachusetts National Guard veteran and directs multiple programs at McLean
Hospital. He also currently serves as Clinical Advisor to the EOVS SAVE (Statewide Advocacy for
Veterans Empowerment) Team.
Dr. Margaret Guyer (Co-Chair), Department of Mental Health – Margaret Guyer is Special
Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Clinical and Professional Services at DMH and co-lead
of the Massachusetts Governor’s Challenge to reduce suicide among SMVF.
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Team Red, White & Blue – Did not provide representation.
Home Base – Home Base operates the first and largest private sector clinic in America, and the
only private sector clinic in New England, devoted to providing lifesaving clinical care and
support for the SMVF community. By caring for Veterans, Service Members and their Families in
a family-based clinic and working in cooperation with the US Departments of Defense (DoD)
and Veterans Affairs (VA), Home Base serves as a replicable model to promote the health and
wellbeing of SMVF nationwide.
Dr. René Lento – René Lento is the Director of Addictions Services at Home Base,
specializing in assisting veterans with PTSD, Substance Use Disorders, and reintegration
issues.
Bill Davidson Sr. – Bill Davidson is a retired Command Sergeant Major in the
Massachusetts National Guard and serves as the Director of Veteran Outreach and Peer
Support at Home Base.
Wounded Warrior Project ®– Wounded Warrior Project ®(WWP) is a national service organization
that addresses the pressing challenge of veteran suicide by working to reduce barriers and fears that
wounded warriors and their families face when asking for help and supporting them in ways that
increase resiliency and improve mental health. WWP serves over 200,000 post-9/11 wounded
warriors and 50,000 family members and caregivers with programs and services that address
underlying suicide risk factors and innovative resources to increase access and improve outcomes for
mental health and brain injuries.
Dr. Erin Fletcher – Erin Fletcher is the Warrior Care Network Director at Wounded
Warrior Project and leads collaboration with the four Academic Medical Centers within
WWP’s Warrior Care Network.
Michael Baird – Michael Baird is an Army veteran and the Alumni Manager at Wounded
Warrior Project, overseeing outreach and engagement.
Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention – MCSP is a broad-based inclusive alliance to
prevent suicide. MCSP members come from all backgrounds that actively work to improve state
and community linkages to reduce barriers to mental health, substance addiction recovery,
domestic violence shelters and other community services.
Paula Tessier – Paula Tessier is the Associate Director for the Massachusetts Coalition
for Suicide Prevention and assists the Massachusetts Governor’s Challenge.
Deacon James F. Greer – Deacon James F Greer is a retired US Coast Guard, Senior Chief
Health Services Technician and an Executive board member for both Massachusetts and
Plymouth County coalitions for Suicide Prevention.
Massachusetts Psychological Association – The Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA)
is the professional association for psychologists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Dr. Miriam Stoll, Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital – Miriam Stoll is a Clinical
Psychologist at the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, where she develops dual
diagnosis programming.
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 Dr. Angela Taveira-Dick, William James College – Angela Taveira-Dick is the Associate
Director of the Military and Veteran Psychology Program at William James College,
where she also serves as an Assistant Professor.
Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) at the Department of Health (DPH) – SPP is a
critical partner in the work to address SMVF suicide. The SPP is charged with managing,
analyzing, and reporting all suicide relevant state data. The SPP also oversees a state network
of community coalitions charged with addressing suicide prevention in their local communities
and a multitude of community level efforts to deliver community specific culturally appropriate
suicide prevention initiatives, including the SAVE team, a peer staffed suicide prevention
intervention for SMVF. SPP is the state lead for the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 988
and the Veteran’s Crisis Line (988, press 1), a 24/7 suicide crisis call line.
Kelley Cunningham, Department of Public Health – Kelley Cunningham served as
Director of the Suicide Prevention Program for DPH and was recently promoted to
Director for the Division of Violence and Injury Prevention.
White Star Family Member – White Star family members are those who have lost a service
member or veteran in their family to suicide. The Secretary of EOVS and Co-Chairs felt that
it was important for these families to be represented on the Committee.
Amanda Braga-Tipton – Amanda Braga-Tipton is a Chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve
and a White Star Family Member.
VET Centers – Operated by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), Vet Centers are
community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of confidential social and
counseling services to SMVF.
Dr. Elisabeth Parrott, Lowell Vet Center – Elisabeth Parrott is the Director of the Lowell
Vet Center, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Readjustment Counseling
Service.
Massachusetts Veterans Service Officers Association (MVSOA) – The MVSOA is the statewide
organization that focuses on professional development for VSOs, as well as building
relationships with public and private organizations to enhance services for veterans. Per
Massachusetts state law, VSOs represent every city and town in Massachusetts and must be a
veteran. VSOs deliver essential services to eligible veterans and their dependents.
Charly N. Oliva, MSW, VSO – Charly Oliva is an Army veteran and the Director of
Veterans Services for Belchertown, Massachusetts. Charly is also the Sergeant at Arms
for the Massachusetts Veterans Service Officers Association.
Massachusetts National Guard
LTC Katherine Murphy – LTC Murphy is Director of Warrior Resilience and Fitness for
the Massachusetts National Guard and recently completed a temporary active-duty
assignment.
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Katherine Nicholas Malvey – Katherine Nicholas Malvey is the Suicide Prevention
Program Manager for VA New England (VISN 1), overseeing programming in six states.
Mass Mentoring Partnership Inc. – a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening mentoring programs
in Massachusetts through technical assistance, funding, and advocacy.
Lily Mendez – Lily Mendez is the President and CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership.
The Committee also invited members of the SMVF community to present at meetings,
including:
Dan Brennan, SAVE Team
Professor Jay Ball, Framingham Police Department
Carly Wilson, Department of Veteran Affairs
EOVS staff that contributed and provided support to VRAC, and this report:
Nick Bornstein, Policy Advisor
Brian Chase, Chief Information Officer
Matthew Deacon, Chief General Counsel
Sabrina Johnson, Paralegal
Erik Mayberg, Legislative Director
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Executive Summary
In Massachusetts, 1 in 9 of all people who died by suicide were current or former military
personnel. The Veterans Reintegration Advisory Committee (VRAC) is the culmination of public,
private, and nonprofit stakeholders working together to address behavioral health, suicide
prevention, and access to statewide data. The Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS)
worked with several state and federal agencies including the Department of Mental Health,
Department of Public Health, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, all of
which offered essential ties between SMVF and community services. The Massachusetts
National Guard was also represented to provide awareness to the challenges of rapid
vacillation between deployed and not deployed, recurring community reintegration, and
navigating simultaneous military and civilian identities.
VRAC concurred on the following framework for the task of identifying strategies to reduce
veteran suicides:
• In examining veteran suicide, PTSD, and the impact of community reintegration, the lens
inevitably widens to include active service members, all military families, and all who
have served in the military. This is independent of their formal designation as ‘veteran’.
This report speaks to the need to embrace the larger vision of how to address suicide
among SMVF.
• A suicide death represents the confluence of a multitude of factors including but not
limited to PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), social isolation, depression and/or
anxiety, chronic pain, and insomnia. Most notably, substance use disorder and
opioid addiction must figure prominently in any discussion of SMVF suicide
prevention efforts.
Over the course of 6 meetings examining factors contributing to SMVF suicidality, and current
programs and resources offered statewide, VRAC identified 4 avenues for addressing
systematic gaps:
1. Address the need for systematic collection and use of data to understand individual and
system level factors in SMVF suicide deaths, including opioid overdoses, and to inform
policy and practice. VRAC recommends establishing an adult suicide fatality review
board to provide ongoing analysis of suicide deaths in the Commonwealth with
particular attention to SMVF and to opioid overdoses.
2. Facilitate rapid access to competent and effective treatment for SMVF and create clear
and easy pathways to services.
3. Invest in established SMVF peer services and expand access to both formal and informal
peer support. Establish comprehensive web-based inventory and identify funding and
procedures for sustaining reliable information and disseminating it widely.
4. Establish and require a robust training curriculum in military culture and suicide
prevention for all healthcare providers. Provide funding for training delivery and for
effective implementation of evidence-based treatments for SMVF experiencing PTSD,
MST, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder.
This report seeks to address the questions raised through the course of VRAC’s meetings and
provide recommendations for consideration by all interested parties.
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Findings
How do we understand suicide among Massachusetts’ SMVF?
Several studies are available regarding Massachusetts service members, veterans, and their
families, including a 2017 report from the RAND Corporation.1 There is also a wide variety of
data that exists regarding veteran suicide prevention and veteran reintegration. To best
understand the impact of reintegration and to intervene/reduce risk for suicide among SMVF, it
is important to have a baseline of facts, statistics, figures, and trends as a common reference
for