Booz Allen Hamilton Joins Hackathon to Prevent Veteran Suicide
On December 12, Booz Allen Hamilton joined the White House, Bayes Impact, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Veteran Affairs in a series of events held in five cities across the US to promote mental health and prevent suicide.
Booz Allen data scientists, engineers, senior mental health subject experts and designers joined multiple concurrent hackathons in San Francisco, Boston and Washington D.C. to build software prototypes and data visualization tools using open data to address suicide among Veterans. Additionally, Booz Allen staff served as featured speakers in San Francisco and as mentors and judges in Boston and Washington DC. The one-day event was part of President Obama's Mental Health Awareness Initiative.
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.
Earlier this year, Booz Allen became a founding member of The Campaign to Change Direction, a national initiative to create a new story in America about mental health, mental illness and wellness. As part of a collective effort led by Give an Hour, Booz Allen has committed to do our part to change the conversation about mental health. Over the next 5 years, the firm has pledged to educate 11,000 of its employees on the signs and symptoms of emotional health issues. It has further committed to promote positive emotional well-being in the workplace, and foster a holistic approach to wellness.
