The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded more than $2.1 million in grants to eight community organizations providing suicide prevention services to veterans in Virginia.
The funding is part of $112 million in grants awarded to 191 organizations nationwide through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program. The grants will become available at the start of fiscal year 2027.
The program provides funding to nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and other community-based organizations that demonstrate the capacity to serve veterans.
Suicide prevention is the VA’s top clinical priority, and all VA health care facilities provide veterans with same-day emergency mental health care when needed. However, reaching veterans who need assistance can be a challenge.
In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, 61% of veterans who died by suicide were not receiving VA health care during the last year of their lives.
The Fox grant program is intended to help bridge that gap by directing funding to community-based organizations.
“Community organizations play a vital role in strengthening the support network available to veterans across Southwest Virginia,” said Tammy Snyder, executive director of the Salem VA Health Care System. “These grants provide veterans with lifesaving support and ensure they have access to the care and resources they deserve right here in our community.”
In calendar year 2025, approximately 17,000 veterans, service members and family members received services through Fox grant recipients, a 31% increase from 2024. In addition, 344 at-risk veterans were connected to emergency mental health care through the grants.
Fox grantees also connected 2,647 veterans who had not previously used Veterans Health Administration services with VA care and resources in 2025, nearly 1,000 more than in 2024.
The VA said the number of veterans served through the program is expected to increase in 2026.
The VA is also continuing other suicide prevention efforts nationwide.
During fiscal year 2026 through Sept. 20, the Veterans Crisis Line answered more than 1.3 million calls, chats and texts from veterans, a 7.1% increase over the previous year. The VA reported a 97.3% veteran satisfaction rate.
The VA also has expanded suicide risk screening and comprehensive evaluations. Through August 2026, the department completed more than 5.5 million suicide risk screenings, approximately 100,000 more than in 2025.
The VA continues to expand suicide prevention training for health care professionals at VA facilities and in the community.
The department also provides eligible veterans and certain former service members experiencing an acute suicidal crisis with emergency suicide prevention care through VA and non-VA facilities. Since 2023, nearly 50,000 veterans have used the benefit.
The VA said it has also taken steps to enroll more veterans in VA care. So far in 2026, more than 270,000 veterans have enrolled.
For more information about the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, including eligibility and application requirements, visit the VA’s SSG Fox SPGP website.
For additional information, contact the Salem VA Health Care System Public Affairs Office at [email protected].
-The Salem Times-Register
