Velis Receives Award for Leadership in Suicide Prevention
(3/21/2025- Boston) Last week during a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House the MA Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) presented the Leadership in Suicide Prevention award to Senator John C. Velis (D-Westfield). This award follows years of dedicated work by Velis to bolster behavioral health resources, including suicide prevention programs, among both the civilian and military connected populations.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention is a statewide organization of community activists, healthcare professionals, crisis works, and those impacted by suicide. Over the last 20 years MCSP has been actively working to reduce barriers to mental health, substance addiction recovery, domestic violence shelters and other community services.
“I am truly honored to receive this recognition for my work in the behavioral space, an issue so near and dear to my heart. At the end of the day, as we continue to work to bolster access to behavioral health programs it’s imperative that people know that help is out there and things can and will get better,” shared Senator Velis, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery. “I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the hundreds of folks across our state working on the ground each day to form relationships and answer folks when they raise their hands and ask for help. What we do up on Beacon Hill is only one piece of the much larger lifesaving work that is happening every single day in our communities because of these providers and volunteers.”
Following reports last summe that showed that the Army’s suicide rate in peacetime has now exceeded total combat deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Velis held a roundtable at Holyoke Community College on how suicide can be prevented among our Commonwealth’s service members. After last week’s award ceremony, Velis shared that he will continue to demand a comprehensive response across our nation to address these alarming statistics.
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