Melissa Romeo
NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services
New Jersey's Suicide Prevention Conference Chair from the Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Melissa Romeo, welcomes attendees and gives an overview of the day.
Susanne Mills
NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services
**This session contains a live discussion of suicidal ideation which some people may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.**
Susanne Mills is a member of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Executive Staff. Ms. Mills serves in the role of DMHAS Ombudsman and is the Manager of the DMHAS Office of Advocacy and Peer Services in the Medical Director’s Office. She has lived experience with Mental Health challenges and struggled with Suicidal Ideation and Self-injury for 40 plus years. Susanne will explain her difficulties with suicidality with a compassionate understanding that many people are living with the constant pain that she has experienced in the world. She is not a clinically trained person but has lived experience and will touch on her personal journey to overcome self-hatred and suicidality, and to find balance with major depression. Susanne will share some of her creative work that was developed during countless sleepless nights. She has recently used her own poetry to work diligently with an awesome therapist to find a way to heal. Today, Ms. Mills acknowledges feelings of self-love and self-respect. Susanne has created a balanced and peaceful life.
Dr. Richard McKeon
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
In this keynote address, Dr. Richard McKeon will highlight how the landscape of suicide prevention has changed over the past 10+ years. Dr. McKeon began his career in New Jersey and championed a number of suicide prevention initiatives; eventually launching him to the national-level as a leader in the field of suicide prevention. Dr. McKeon will reflect on New Jersey and the nation to discuss how services have changed, what progress has been made, and what promising practices and initiatives exist now. To conclude his presentation, Dr. McKeon will provide his professional opinion on what we should be focusing on over the next 10 years and what services can be further built upon to see a reduction in rates of suicide.
Lori Jarck
New Jersey Chapter of the Amercian Foundation for Suicide Prevention
This breakout will discuss how suicide loss survivors can find a way to healing and hope. It will cover the unique challenges of suicide grief and discuss different pathways and approaches for suicide loss survivors to heal and grow. We will focus on practices that will support survivors and will be helpful to those who may be working with and companioning them. Finally, we will provide resources to aid grieving families and friends with their healing journey.
Dr. Vanessa McGann
Coalition of Clinician Survivors
Dr. Maria Kirchner
Licensed Practicing Psychologist in Private Practice
After a loss to suicide, clinicians experience a grief that reverberates on both personal and professional levels. In addition to the general devastation that often accompanies this traumatic loss, challenges to our ability to cope and adapt are often encountered. Clinicians can notice profound shifts in their clinical work and professional identities; in addition, the significant stigma within professional mental health communities can lead those impacted to feel silenced and isolated. There are few formal places in which aspects of this loss can be acknowledged or processed, few existing resources for clinicians, and messages from the field that can exacerbate the difficulty in healing. This presentation will begin with a clinician describing her experience after losing a patient to suicide. It will then explore common themes that occur in the wake of a suicide for mental health providers, focusing on available resources and ways to mitigate the negative consequences. Finally, we will have time for a Q&A on this important topic.
Maureen Brogan
Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth Program (TLC) at Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care
Brett Peppe
HOPES Program at Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care
Losing anyone to suicide has an impact not only for the family but the entire community. This session will look at postvention for youth and will explore interventions to support those impacted to reduce further trauma and suicide and promote healing. When postvention efforts are implemented properly, it can create a safe environment for grieving, encourages open conversations about mental health, and helps to prevent suicide contagion among vulnerable peers. The TLC has provided postvention services for almost 25 years and will include lessons learned from the field in this presentation.
Dr. Jennifer Paruk
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
Rasheedah Sims
NJ Department of Law & Public Safety
Matthew J. Platkin
New Jersey Attorney General
This session will provide an overview of Extreme Risk Protective Orders (ERPOs) and their application in suicide prevention. This session will focus specifically on New Jersey's ERPO requirements and process. Additionally, the session will address barriers to ERPO use and strategies to address these barriers.
Amy Hassa
NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Nedra Watson
Greystone Psychiatric Hospital
Major General Mark Graham
Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care National Call Center and Vets4Warriors®
Michael Ward
This panel discussion approaches the first-hand experiences of survivors of suicide loss through the lens of three parents that have lost sons to suicide. This conversation focuses on their stories of loss, how the loss impacted their greater family systems, and how it has shaped their lives moving forward. This session will also highlight that no matter how different the relationship was with the lost family member, there is only so much we can control in life and there is need for each person who has survived a devastating loss to find things that bring them solace, support, passion and grace. This session is not meant to bring details that would cause harm, but rather remind us that victims, survivors, and communities are individual and all in need of support following a loss.
*This session is optional. All videos are available on-demand*
During this 30-minute lunch break, a number of on-demand videos are available for you to view at your leisure.
Take care of yourself and use your lunch time to decompress and participate in a variety of wellness activities courtesy of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey.
You can also meet the Youth Planning Committee - New Jersey teens and young adults leading statewide suicide prevention efforts. The YPC shares mental health resources and advocates for open conversations about suicide.
Their latest work includes a social media toolkit featuring youth-focused content, safe messaging guidelines, shareable graphics, and educational posts designed to reduce stigma and promote mental health resources to young people. Post on social, share memes, make a mental health fit check video.
Suicide prevention resources are available and accessible to all youth in New Jersey. https://www.preventsuicidenj.org/toolkit/
Ashley Costello
NJ Division of Children's System of Care
Kevin Askew
STOPit Solutions/Lightspeed Systems
Ariel Fuchs
New Jersey Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Liz Graham
180 Turning Lives Around
Dr. Laura Tully
Kooth USA LLC
This breakout session, moderated by Ashley Costello from the Department of Children and Families’ Office of Integrated Health and Wellness within the Children’s System of Care, features a panel of experts from Soluna, SafeNJ, the NJ chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 2NDFLOOR Youth Helpline. The session will explore how digital tools like mobile apps and websites are used in suicide prevention. Key topics include identifying effective technologies, addressing ethical and privacy concerns, and integrating digital solutions with traditional support systems. Attendees will gain actionable insights into enhancing the effectiveness and reach of technology in supporting youth mental health.
Shannon Hegarty
NJ Division of Children's System of Care
Dr. Robert Eilers
NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Sean Sundberg
CarePlus NJ
Dr. Jerry Joseph
CarePlus NJ
Stephanie Suriani
Tri County CMO
Matthew LaRoche
Tri County CMO
This breakout session will be co-moderated by representatives from New Jersey’s Department of Human Services and Department of Children and Families to explore the implementation and applicability of the Zero Suicide framework with multiple provider types. Discussion will include successes, challenges and lessons learned.
Dr. Michael Anestis
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
Rev. Dr. Emily Hall
Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
Thurman Barnes
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
In this session, Reverand Dr. Emily Hall and Dr. Michael Anestis will discuss the role that faith leaders can play in suicide prevention, what might get in the way of faith leaders serving in that role, and what can be done to overcome such obstacles. The conversation will be moderated by Thurman Barnes, JD, Mdiv, and will touch on the perspectives of both panelists, one of whom works within the faith community and one of whom works in suicide prevention.
Dr. Lia Nower
Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University
In this session, Dr. Lia Nower, Director of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University, will be reviewing empirical findings on the relationship between suicidality and gambling. This session will include a summary of general research findings and the review of studies conducted by the Center for Gambling Studies investigating the relationship of morbid thinking, suicidal ideation and attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury in New Jersey (particularly among sports bettors), and gambling-related suicide in a national database. Implications for screening and treatment will be discussed.
Dr. Ursula Whiteside
NowMattersNow.org
Through a Lived Experience lens, we’ll reflect on where the suicide prevention field started, celebrate how far we’ve come, and look ahead to the high-risk, high-reward areas that could shape the next decade.
Historically, our field has too often sidelined the insights of those with lived experience in mental health systems—dismissing or distrusting their perspectives instead of letting them guide the work. We’ll explore what changes when lived experience, science, and community come together to drive new initiatives—and how that combination can push us toward the breakthroughs we need most.
Sarah Adelman
NJ Department of Human Services
The New Jersey Department of Human Services' Commissioner, Sarah Adelman, reflects on the day and gives a perspective for the future of preventing suicide in New Jersey.