In March 2020, in an effort to reduce suicide rates among Arizonans, Governor Ducey signed into law a measure, known as Jake’s law, to improve access to mental healthcare in Arizona, especially for youth and the uninsured. The law was named for 15-year-old Jake Machovsky who died by suicide in 2016 after his insurance company denied a request for mental health treatment. One aspect of the new law resulted in the creation of a Suicide Mortality Review Team.

Read the real stories of how the Be Connected Support Line team has helped Arizona veterans thrive.

In March 2020, in an effort to reduce suicide rates among Arizonans, Governor Ducey signed into law a measure, known as Jake’s law, to improve access to mental healthcare in Arizona, especially for youth and the uninsured. The law was named for 15-year-old Jake Machovsky who died by suicide in 2016 after his insurance company denied a request for mental health treatment. One aspect of the new law resulted in the creation of a Suicide Mortality Review Team.

Our upstream approach means we seek to connect with people “upstream” before an issue or problem worsens into a crisis that can lead to suicide. We work to tackle the issues today so that they don’t turn into life-threatening situations that can cause people to think of suicide as an option.

This August marks 13 years since the founding of the Arizona Coalition for Military Families! Continuing in our tradition of showcasing Arizona’s innovation, an Arizona team traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in an Innovations Conference for the Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families.

September is National Service Dog Month, so we thought it was a perfect time to share this amazing story of how the Be Connected program was able to make a community connection that benefitted veterans and their service dogs.