On May 21, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the availability of approximately $52.5 million in grants for community-based organizations that provide suicide prevention or emergency clinical services to veterans at risk of suicide.
Grant applications are due by 4:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, July 18. The VA will choose awardees by Sept. 30.
Organizations can apply for grants worth up to $750,000 and may apply to renew awards from year to year throughout the length of the program.
The grants will be awarded through the VA’s Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Program. Information about applying is available here.
“Reducing veteran suicide starts with reaching veterans when and how it’s most convenient for them. One of the best ways to accomplish this mission is by working with community-based organizations,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in announcing the program. “We look forward to ensuring these funds are put to use helping veterans in need across the nation.”
Since its launch in 2022, the Fox grant program has awarded $157.5 million to 95 organizations across 43 states, U.S. territories and tribal lands.
The VA’s grant program comes on the heels of the Grunt Style Foundation calling for an investigation into why the millions of dollars spent by the VA has not significantly curtailed the number of veterans who take their own lives.
In a news release issued in February, the Grunt Style Foundation urged Collins to look at how the VA’s suicide prevention dollars are being spent.
“The numbers don’t lie and neither will I,” said Tim Jensen, president of the Grunt Style Foundation in the news release. “We are losing the battle while drowning in bureaucracy. Every day we lose 17 of our brothers and sisters to suicide.
“The VA’s current budget allocates approximately $571 for suicide prevention initiatives yet the crisis continues to worsen. This is part of a larger $13 billion mental health budget that is not delivering the results our veterans need.”
The Foundation further said it is partnering with the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization to help reduce the stigma that veterans face when they seek help. Both organizations say they are also looking at alternative methods to help prevent veteran suicide.
