Ask the Question Campaign:

This year the Hogan-Rutherford Administration accepted an invitation from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans, and Families (SMVF). The Challenge is a call to action to collaborate, plan, and implement suicide prevention SMVF best practices and policies. The Department of Health (MDH) and Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) are leading a team of more than 30 federal, state, and local partners to develop the plan. The “Ask the Question” Campaign is one suicide prevention strategy developed as part of the plan which encourages human services professionals, state and local government, and community providers to ask consumers whether they or a loved one have served in the military. Asking this question promotes the opportunity to educate and connect more people to valuable military/veteran related programs, thereby improving overall well-being of our service members, veterans and families.