Montana receives suicide prevention grants from VA

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) The Department of Veterans Affairs this week awarded $111 million in grants to 191 community organizations, including Missoula, that provide suicide prevention services to veterans.

The funds stem from the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program and will become available at the start of fiscal year 2027.

Grants are accessible to nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and other community-based organizations that have demonstrated a capacity to serve veterans.

“Community organizations are critical to reaching Veterans who may not otherwise connect with VA care,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “VA’s Fox grant program often serves as a bridge between vital federal resources and vulnerable Veterans in need of help.”

Suicide prevention remains a top priority for the VA. Last year, roughly 17,000 veterans and family members received service through the grants – an increase of 31% over the prior year.

But reaching veterans in need of help can be a challenge. Roughly 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 were not receiving VA healthcare in the last year of their life.

Fox grants can help bridge this gap by directing funding to community-based organizations, the VA said.

Grant recipients in Montana include the Volunteers of America, which serves all state counties, and the VFW, which serves western Montana. The Adaptive Performance Center and Great Plains Veterans Service Center – which both serve eastern Montana – also received the award.