Governor's Challenge

Suicide among Service Members and Veterans is tragic and frequent but, most importantly, preventable. The Illinois Governor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) is developing and implementing state-wide suicide prevention best practices for SMVF. One of its primary initiatives is to educate the community that we all play a role in suicide prevention.

The Governor’s Challenge is focusing on three pillars:

Hear the Call: We can prevent suicide by listening compassionately, speaking up, increasing our knowledge of risk factors and warning signs, and decreasing access to lethal means. Learn more about signs of crisis.

Spread the Word: Download and share these free infographics on suicide prevention. Available for print and social media. Educational Materials and Media Kit (27 MB)

Download this informational packet to learn more about available resources. Veteran resources list AHS (PDF)

Increase Safety by All Means: Educate yourself about suicide prevention, including reducing access to lethal means in times of crisis.

Suicide Prevention Training: The Governor’s Challenge has an ambitious goal of training over 70,000 individuals in suicide prevention best practices. Training opportunities are being held across the state. To learn more about the training, view this short video message from IDVA Director Terry Prince: https://multimedia.illinois.gov/dva/DVA-Governor%27s-Challenge-Mar-2023.html

The Illinois Department of Human Services-Division of Mental Health (IDHS-DMH) and the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs are working in partnership with the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

To learn more about the Governor’s Challenge and how you can become part of the crusade to end SMVF suicide, visit: www.governorschallenge.illinois.gov.

Challenge Objectives

• Convene a state (Governor’s Challenge) or city/community (Mayor’s Challenge) interagency military and civilian team of leaders to develop an implementation plan to prevent suicide among SMVF that will advance the VA’s National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide (PDF | 2.9 MB) and incorporate evidence-based strategies from the CDC’s Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices (PDF | 6.3 MB). 
• Implement promising, best, and evidence-based practices to prevent and reduce suicide. 
• Engage with city, county, and state stakeholders to enhance and align local and state-wide suicide prevention efforts. 
• Understand the issues surrounding suicide prevention for SMVF.
• Increase knowledge about the challenges and lessons learned in implementing best policies and practices by using state-to-state and community-to-community sharing. 
• Employ promising, best, and evidence-based practices to prevent and reduce suicide at the local level. 
• Define and measure success, including defining assignments, deadlines, and measurable outcomes to be reported.