BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey marked the state’s first Military Service Members and Veterans Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day on Tuesday, Sept. 22, a designation she signed into law in 2025 to honor service members and veterans lost to suicide and raise awareness of mental health resources.
Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick and the Executive Office of Veterans Services hosted the first official remembrance ceremony at Memorial Hall in the State House. Families who have lost loved ones to active-duty or veteran suicide joined state leaders, veterans advocates and community partners for the event.
“When our service members come home, we want Massachusetts to set the standard for how we support them and their families,” Healey said in a statement. “That means making sure veterans can get mental health care when they need it, expanding suicide prevention and peer support, and recognizing that women veterans and military families may have different needs and experiences.”
In Massachusetts, one in nine suicides in 2020 involved someone with current or past military service, according to the administration.
“Service members, veterans, and their families face unique pressures—from the demands of military service to difficult transitions, loss, and the challenges of asking for help in a culture that focuses on strength and self-reliance,” said Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick. “Creating a culture in which people feel safe speaking up, checking in on one another, and seeking help without stigma, can strengthen our military community and help save lives.”
Healey’s office says her -Driscoll administration has taken several other steps aimed at veteran suicide prevention:
- Signed the HERO Act, which expanded access to outpatient behavioral health treatment and increased benefits for disabled veterans.
- Strengthened the Statewide Advocacy for Veterans Empowerment program and established a Suicide Mortality Review Committee to identify risk factors.
- Awarded $2 million to 15 community organizations for behavioral health and peer support programs.
- Trained Veterans Services Officers and distributed firearm safety devices carrying crisis line information through a statewide lethal means safety initiative.
- Launched a $20 million campaign to end veteran homelessness that has helped more than 1,000 veterans secure housing.
State agencies will hold the annual Governor’s Challenge conference on suicide prevention this week.
