WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $111.9 million in grants to 191 community organizations across the country, expanding nationwide efforts to deliver targeted suicide prevention services directly to Veterans.
The funding, distributed through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, will take effect at the start of fiscal year 2027. The grants support non-profits, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, and local community groups capable of delivering critical mental health support to Veterans.
Bridging the Care Gap
While suicide prevention remains the VA’s top clinical priority—offering same-day emergency mental health access across all healthcare facilities—reaching isolated Veterans remains a persistent operational challenge.
Data shows that 61% of Veterans who died by suicide in 2023 were not enrolled in or receiving VA healthcare during the final year of their lives. The Fox grant initiative is specifically structured to bridge this gap by funding community-based organizations that operate outside traditional federal systems.
“Community organizations are critical to reaching Veterans who may not otherwise connect with VA care,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “VA’s Fox grant program often serves as a bridge between vital federal resources and vulnerable Veterans in need of help.”
The strategy is already yielding measurable results:
- Community Engagement: In 2025, grantees delivered services to approximately 17,000 Veterans, service members, and military families—a 31% jump from 2024. Numbers are projected to increase further through 2026.
- Emergency Interventions: Grant-funded organizations connected 344 at-risk Veterans directly to life-saving emergency mental healthcare in 2025.
- System Onboarding: Grantees successfully linked 2,647 Veterans who had no prior history with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to VA healthcare and services.
Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Metrics
The grant rollout accompanies broader suicide prevention and screening benchmarks across the VA network through late 2026:
- Veterans Crisis Line: Through Sept. 20, the crisis line handled over 1.3 million calls, chats, and text interactions—a 7.1% increase year-over-year—maintaining a 97.3% Veteran satisfaction score.
- Record Screening Pace: Following the rollout of the RISK ID suicide risk evaluation system, the VA completed over 5.5 million individual risk screenings through August—exceeding the prior year’s record by approximately 100,000.
- Emergency Acute Care: Almost 50,000 Veterans experiencing acute suicidal crises have accessed emergency care at both VA and community facilities at no cost since 2023.
- Expanded Enrollment: To date, the VA has enrolled more than 280,000 new Veterans into the VA healthcare system, tackling the primary risk factor of unenrolled Veterans head-on.
Information & Application Details
Organizations seeking information on grant eligibility, strategic priorities, and future funding cycles can access application guidelines directly on the SSG Fox SPGP website, alongside the full roster of current awardees.
