New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

The New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI) is pleased to announce that Congressman Jon Runyan (R-3rd District) will accept the United for Veterans Honored Federal Leader Award during a conference, "A True Welcome Home: Ensuring New Jersey Veterans' Successful Return through Resources and Support," on February 7, 2013 at the Robert Wood Johnson Conference Center, Hamilton, NJ.

"Although we are honoring Congressman Runyan, it is actually our honor to have this opportunity to share his many contributions to improving quality of life for veterans. He has achieved so much on behalf of veterans as a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. One of the many highlights is passage of the Veterans' Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2011 after veterans went without COLAs for the previous two years," said Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D., Executive Director of NJMHI and Chief Executive Officer of NJMHI's parent organization, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA).

Congressman Runyan has authored, sponsored and co-sponsored several bills designed to support veterans, which garnered much support from his fellow House delegates. This proposed legislation includes: a bill that corrects administrative burial procedures at Arlington National Cemetery (H.R. 1627); legislation that restores tuition funding to veteran students attending non-public education and training institutions (H.R. 1383); the Veterans Efficiencies Through Savings Act of 2011 (H.R. 1298, VETS Act), which would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to examine the community-based outpatient clinic at Fort Dix and VA medical center locations like those in South Jersey so that veterans would not need to travel long distances to the VA medical center in Philadelphia; and a bill (H.R. 2349) for a pilot training program to improve the efficiency and quality of processing disability claims, which was signed into law. In addition, Congressman Runyan led a bipartisan group of Representatives to secure veterans' access to a specific medication for prostate cancer that was already available to non-veteran beneficiaries of federal healthcare coverage.

Congressman Runyan also makes many efforts to be visible at veterans-related events, such as Veterans Expos and jobs fairs throughout his home district in South Jersey.

The conference is being presented by NJMHI, in partnership with Community Hope, Inc. and University Behavioral HealthCare, which are NJAMHAA member behavioral healthcare provider organizations; the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma; and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Jersey.

Additional highlights of the conference will include:

* Keynote presentation, A New Jersey Veteran's Journey from Trauma to Triumph, by Eric Arauz, President, AIE-Arauz Inspirational Enterprises, LLC, and co-chair of a national workgroup on suicide prevention and assessment

* Panel discussions with behavioral healthcare providers, veterans, family members of veterans and state leaders focused on supporting veterans, overcoming barriers and building solutions

* Workshops on how everyone can support veterans, a public health perspective on military suicide and how veterans can maximize the value offered by various resources

"This conference is designed to educate veterans and their family members about valuable services that are available throughout the state and encourage use of these invaluable resources. The program will also educate veterans' family members and all types of professionals about needs and challenges veterans commonly have upon their return home from deployments," Dr. Wentz said. "We hope to see many veterans, their families, representatives from veterans' service organizations, state legislators and policymakers, employers, law enforcement and criminal justice personnel, health professionals and college educators at this important event."

For conference details and to register, visit the Conferences section of www.njamhaa.org.