Washington Department of Veterans Affairs awarded VA suicide prevention grant
Grant supports local suicide prevention efforts for Veterans and their families
Olympia — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is continuing its mission of preventing Veteran suicide by working with community organizations across the country, including Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA).
Through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP), Washington Department of Veterans Affairs received $750,000 from the Federal VA to support local Veterans.
“We expect to make a significant impact in the lives of our Veterans and their families in the community,” said WDVA Director, Alfie Alvarado-Ramos. “I am proud of our team’s vision for improving our community's resiliency and excited to see the outcomes of this program in our continued efforts of Serving Those Who Served.”
The SSG Fox SPGP is a pilot, community-based grant program that will provide financial assistance to eligible entities to provide or coordinate providing suicide prevention services to eligible Veterans and their families. Eligible entities have been awarded one-year, renewable funding. With its SSG Fox SPGP award, WDVA plans to provide suicide prevention services to Veterans in the Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Island, Kittitas, San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom and other rural counties across Washington state.
The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs helps connect veterans and their family members to the benefits and services they earned through their military service.
WDVA offers long-term care in our four State Veteran Homes (the Washington Soldiers Home, the Washington Veterans Home, the Spokane Veterans Home, and the Walla Walla Veterans Home) for honorably discharged veterans, and in some cases, their spouses.
The Veterans Services and Counseling and Wellness Divisions provide claims assistance as well as counseling services for veterans and their family members. And our State Veterans Cemetery honors veterans in their final resting place.
For more information on WDVA, visit www.dva.wa.gov.
Information on the SSG Fox SPGP can be found at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive free, confidential support and crisis intervention available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255.
Reporters covering this issue can download VA’s Safe Messaging Best Practices fact sheet or visit www.ReportingOnSuicide.org for important guidance on how to communicate about suicide.
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Media Contact
Gary Lott
Community Relations/Social Media Manager
Washington Department of Veterans Affairs
360-810-0238 | mailto:garyl@dva.wa.gov
http://www.dva.wa.gov