Hack to Prevent Veteran Suicide

“Suicide prevention is the responsibility of all people... If you are hurting, know this: You are not forgotten. You are never alone. Your country is here for you, and help is available… As one people, we stand with all who struggle with mental illness, and we continue our work to prevent this heartbreak in our communities.”
– President Obama, World Suicide Prevention Day 2015

In the United States, one in five adults—our friends, colleagues, and loved ones—experience a diagnosable mental health condition like depression or post-traumatic stress at some time during their life. Yet some Americans still suffer with undiagnosed, under treated, or untreated mental health challenges that increases their risk for suicide, leading more than 41,000 to take their own lives each year.

We can help.

Join us for a one day hackathon on 12/12/15 to hack to help prevent veteran suicide.
Bayes Impact, the White House, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Veteran Affairs are hosting a 10-hour hackathon on Saturday 12/12/15 focused on preventing suicides among veterans. This is part of President Obama's Mental Health Awareness Initiative and presidential proclamation of World Suicide Prevention Day. The goal is to create prototype apps, design mockups, and data viz with open data to address Veteran suicide. Our event in SF is part of a day of mental health hackathons across the nation.

Activities During The Event

• Keynote by DJ Patil, Chief Data Scientist of the United State
• Livestream remarks by the White House: Kristen Honey (Policy Advisor, White House OSTP), Susannah Fox (CTO, US Department of Health and Human Services), Maria Town (Associate Director of Public Engagement, White House), and others
• Mentors at the event: domain experts from the White House and Department of Veteran Affairs 
• Cross-country collaboration with concurrent hackathon at the Boston VA: e.g. wormholes, shared Slack channel, opt-in hotlines 
• Presentations + feedback panel with leaders in mental health and government technology

• Overall