WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Three Pennsylvania organizations will receive $1.975 million in federal grants for veteran suicide prevention in fiscal 2027, including $750,000 for a Philadelphia-based organization serving veterans across the five-county Philadelphia region.<\/p>\n
The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded $111.9 million to 191 community organizations nationwide through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program. Funding will become available at the start of fiscal 2027.<\/p>\n
Veterans Multi-Service Center, Inc. will receive $750,000 to serve Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.<\/p>\n
Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania, Inc. will receive another $750,000 for services spanning 28 counties in western and central Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, Erie, Centre, Cambria, Butler and Westmoreland.<\/p>\n
Penn Foundation Inc. was awarded $475,000 to serve Carbon and Schuylkill counties.<\/p>\n
The grants are intended to extend suicide-prevention services beyond the VA health system, addressing a persistent challenge in reaching veterans who are not receiving care through the department.<\/p>\n
About 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023, the most recent year cited by the VA, had not received VA health care during the final year of their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity organizations are critical to reaching Veterans who may not otherwise connect with VA care,\u201d VA Secretary Doug Collins stated. \u201cVA\u2019s Fox grant program often serves as a bridge between vital federal resources and vulnerable Veterans in need of help.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fox program provides funding to nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and other community organizations with demonstrated capacity to serve veterans.<\/p>\n
The grants supplement the VA\u2019s clinical suicide-prevention efforts by funding services delivered in communities where veterans live. VA health facilities also provide same-day access to emergency mental health care for veterans who need it.<\/p>\n