PARSIPPANY — The Assembly Human Services Committee cleared Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce’s bill (A1443) requiring suicide prevention training as a condition of licensure for mental health professionals.

“Forty percent of people who committed suicide in this state had a diagnosed mental health problem,” said DeCroce (R-Morris). “It makes sense that those treating people for mental health conditions be trained in suicide prevention strategies. We need to do all we can to stop these tragedies from occurring, especially among most the vulnerable like veterans and young people.”

According to the CDC, suicide remains one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. and is on the rise. In New Jersey, it’s the fourteenth leading cause of death overall and the second among those aged 15 to 24. Between 2010 and 2014, 478 veterans and members of the military in New Jersey killed themselves – a rate of 23 percent.

The bill requires clinical social workers, therapists, counselors, psychologists and psychoanalysts to complete a minimum of four hours of suicide prevention training every six years. The director of the Division of Consumer Affairs will create a list of approved training programs.

The New Jersey violent death reporting system found that 30 percent of people who died by suicide in 2015 were in either mental health or substance abuse treatment at the time of their death.

PARSIPPANY —The Evergreen Ping Pong Club, Tai Chi groups, and Grand Dancing all sponsored a Chinese New Year Party at the Noodle Dim Sum Restaurant on Friday, January 31. Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor as well as many of the seniors attended the event.

PARSIPPANY — On January 26, 2020, eBorg Robotics hosted a very successful Robotics Workshop and Community Outreach at the Parsippany Library.

Reaching out to many FIRST robotics teams in the area, including Cruise Control, Reboot, the Juggernauts, the Livingston Lancers, RedBots, SmartStarz, and Invincibots, they were able to host an exhibition style outreach with various booths and workshops for students from all over Parsippany to try driving and building robots for themselves. Notable guest included Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor Michael Soriano, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sargent, and Mr. Bill Scalise, the CEO of Chase Partitions.

Marketing Manager Tesia Thomas said of the event “It is always so gratifying to be able to share the skills we’ve learned throughout years of competitions with our community. No matter how young or experienced the students are, they love being able to try robotics with their own hands and fostering that excitement is our team’s real passion.” All in all, the outreach was a very successful one and many of the attendees expressed interest in continuing to pursue robotics and STEM fields.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in robotics or STEM fields, reach out to contact@eborgrobotics.org.

PARSIPPANY — Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany cooked a homemade dinner at Homeless Solutions.

The Kiwanis Club has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past 19 years and have served over 7,000 meals. Members volunteer their time to shop, cook and serve the dinner.

Costco Warehouse East Hanover, Chick-fil-A and Restaurant Depot donated some of the food used in preparing the meals for the residents. The remaining necessary items were purchased by Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany.

Kiwanis members Laura Wohland, Joe Jannarone, Jr., Julie Carifi and Karen DeChristopher  meet at Homeless Solutions and prepared dinner for the guests in the transitional housing program.

Other volunteer groups such as St. Ann’s Church, Kiwanis Club of Morristown, prepares dinner for the shelter on other days of the month. Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past 19 years.

Interested in learning more about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, contact Chairperson Laura Wohland, by emailing law4pres@gmail.com, or Frank Cahill, President Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany at (862) 213-2200.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46. Join us for breakfast to learn more about our group of volunteers.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp joined other New Jersey prosecutors and those from all states at the 2020 National District Attorneys Association Capital Conference, held in Washington D.C. on January 28 and January 29, 2020.

The NDAA Capital Conference was an educational and networking event that allowed attendees to connect with members of the Administration, federal agencies and Capitol Hill lawmakers.

Conference speakers included the Honorable Ann Wagner, Congresswoman, 2nd District of Missouri; the Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island; Robert Parmiter, Deputy Staff Director & Chief Counsel, House Committee on the Judiciary; Richard Downing, U.S. Deputy Attorney General & U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General; Michael Gray of The Actus Foundation; and State’s Attorney Pennington County, South Dakota, Mark Vargo.

During the conference, Prosecutor Knapp and several other New Jersey county prosecutors met with U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, U.S. Representative Chris Smith, and other federal lawmakers.

Prosecutor Knapp said “The NDAA Capital Conference provides a great opportunity for Prosecutors across the nation to meet federal lawmakers. The New Jersey delegation was extremely welcoming to us and we hope to continue a productive dialogue.”

PARSIPPANY — Sons of Italy #2561 is hosting a bus trip to Wind Creek Casino (formerly Sands), Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 28. Bus leaves K-Mart (Arlington Plaza) parking lot at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Cost is $40.00 per person and includes sandwiches, refreshments on the bus and $25.00 back in slot play.

Contact Jim Torsiello at (973) 941-5654 for reservations or additional information.

PARSIPPANY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) delivered unanimous House passage of the bipartisan Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act (H.R. 4305). The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act will create a pilot program within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give veterans access to treatment derived from working with service dogs. Representative Sherrill is a lead sponsor of the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act alongside author Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH).

Specifically, the VA will partner with non-profit organizations working with veterans and service dogs to create work-therapy programs wherein veterans learn the art and science of training dogs.  Upon completion of the program, the veterans may adopt their dogs to provide continuing therapy.

“Researchers, doctors, and veterans report the same thing: service dogs are a transformational form of therapy for our veterans with PTSD,” said Representative Mikie Sherrill. “Service dogs help create bonds of trust and love with veterans, soothing the invisible wounds of war. Right now, it is incredibly expensive and difficult for veterans to access the care that service dogs can provide. I’m proud that the House overwhelmingly supported this mission-based therapy and I thank Representative Stivers for his tireless leadership on this issue. We were able to get more than 300 co-sponsors for this bill — proof that we can work together to make sure veterans get the treatment they deserve.”

In November 2019, Representative Sherrill hosted a screening at the U.S. Capitol of “To Be of Service,” a documentary that highlights the transformational relationship between veterans and their service dogs, and follows the journey of veterans newly paired with a service dog. After the screening, veterans featured in the film spoke about their experiences with service dogs and called on Congress to pass the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act.