New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

Don't miss "A True Welcome Home: Ensuring New Jersey Veterans' Successful Return through Resources and Support," an important conference that will be held on February 7, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Robert Wood Johnson Conference Center in Hamilton, NJ. The conference is being presented by the New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI), in partnership with University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC) and Community Hope, Inc., providers of behavioral healthcare services for veterans and many other populations; 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.

Three Reasons Why Everyone Should Attend This Conference:

1. Help Prevent Military Suicide

Army suicides have increased by at least 54 percent since 2007 when there were 115 and, despite a suicide-prevention campaign that the Army launched in 2009, suicides in the Army have increased by another 9 percent. Furthermore, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat last year, according to the Department of Defense.

"The Department of Defense has been proactive in developing new strategies to reduce suicides but, as with civilian populations, effective interventions have remained elusive," said Christopher Kosseff, MS, President and CEO of UBHC, which operates the Vets4Warriors and Vet2Vet helplines and offers a variety of programs to help veterans cope with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. "It is clear that the pervasive stresses and unique risks of military life, particularly during wartime, foster an environment conducive to suicide."

Kosseff will present a workshop, Military Suicide from a Public Health Perspective, during the conference.

2. Discover Valuable Resources for Veterans and their Families

Visit the following exhibitors to learn of the valuable services they provide:
• Carrier Clinic
• Community Hope, Inc.
• Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Essex County Community College
• Hampton Behavioral Health Center
• NAMI New Jersey
• New Jersey Division of Civil Rights
• New Jersey State Parole Board
• University Behavioral HealthCare - Vet2Vet and Vets4Warriors helplines
• Warren County Community College

Plus, behavioral healthcare providers, veterans, family members of veterans and state leaders will share strategies for overcoming barriers to receiving support and for accessing and making the use of the many resources available throughout the state.


3. Get Inspired

Congressman Jon Runyan (R-3rd District) will receive the United for Veterans Honored Federal Leader Award from NJMHI.

Congressman Runyan serves on the House Armed Services Committee and its Tactical Air and Land, and Readiness Subcommittees, as well as the Veterans Affairs and Natural Resources Committees. He has authored, sponsored and co-sponsored several bills designed to support veterans, all of which garnered much support from his fellow House delegates and several of which were signed into law.

Veteran Eric Arauz will deliver what promises to be an unforgettable keynote presentation An American's Resurrection: A New Jersey Veteran's Journey from Trauma to Triumph, if his vivid book by the same title is any indication - and it is, without a doubt! Arauz is also President of AIE-Arauz Inspirational Enterprises, LLC, an international training and consulting company based in East Brunswick, and a well-known speaker throughout and beyond the country. He was recently selected to participate in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) Voice Awards Fellowship Program, which is "designed to give peer leaders in the behavioral health community the opportunity to shape public perceptions of mental health and substance use recovery through storytelling," as described on SAMHSA's website.

For more conference details, visit www.njamhaa.org and access the online registration page through the Conferences section.

Please register online before 5:00 p.m. today (Tues., Feb. 5th) or register on-site if needed; please bring your registration fee payment with you. Thank you.