NEW JERSEY – A bill that would allow the state Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs to receive funds from public and private sectors for veteran suicide prevention cleared the Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee last week.
“Suicides among veterans outpace those of nonveterans, which is an alarming trend,” Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis (R-Union), the bill’s sponsor, said. “The state needs to prioritize the message that there is help for veterans who feel suicidal.”
The bill (A5307) would place those funds in a special, non-expiring fund managed by the state Treasury Department. That money would pay for targeted public service announcements—brochures, veterans guides and social media posts—to combat veteran suicides.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported 370 veteran suicides between 2014 and 2018 New Jersey. That rate was nearly seven points higher than the New Jersey non-veteran suicide rate. Overall, the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report said 41,484 American adults died from suicide in 2022, including 6,407 veterans in the U.S. and 56 in New Jersey.
“Veterans have often faced situations during their service that civilians cannot even imagine and then deal with the isolation of despair and hopelessness all suicidal persons feel,” Matsikoudis said. “Opening up funding sources to spread awareness about support services available to veterans makes sense.”
New Jersey is home to almost 300,000 veterans.
