VA awards $4,307,692 to organizations in Michigan and Wisconsin

Money awarded to organizations working to strengthen community-based suicide prevention efforts

Iron Mountain -- The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded $4,307,692 million in grants to seven community organizations that provide suicide prevention services to Veterans in Michigan and Wisconsin.

This funding is part of $112 million in grants awarded to 191 organizations nationwide to support suicide prevention efforts.

The funds are made available through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) 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.

Suicide prevention is VA's top clinical priority, and all VA healthcare facilities provide Veterans same-day emergency mental health care access if they need it. Reaching Veterans in need of help, however, can be a challenge. For instance, 61 percent of Veterans who died by suicide in 2023 -- the most recent year for which data is available - 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.

"Community organizations play a vital role in strengthening the support network available to Michigan and Wisconsin Veterans," said John P. Shealey, Medical Center Director. "These grants provide Veterans with lifesaving support and ensure they have access to the care and resources they deserve right here in our community."

For details about eligibility, priorities and application requirements for SSG Fox SPGP -- or to view the complete list of grant awardees -- visit the SSG Fox SPGP website at mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/index.asp.

In addition to the Fox grant program, VA is pursuing a range of suicide prevention efforts nationwide:

· In fiscal year 2026 through September 20th, VA answered more than 1.3 million calls, chats and texts from Veterans in need through the Veterans Crisis Line, a 7.1 percent increase over the prior year, with a Veteran satisfaction rate of 97.3 percent.

· In 2018, the first Trump Administration launched RISK ID, a comprehensive suicide risk evaluation screening that helps VA flag and care for at-risk Veterans. In May 2026, VA announced it is screening Veterans for suicide risk and providing comprehensive evaluations at a record pace. Through August 2026, VA completed more than 5.5 million suicide risk screenings, approximately 100,000 more Veterans screened in 2025.

· VA continues to expand suicide prevention training for health care professionals at VA and in the community.

· VA continues to provide eligible Veterans and certain former service members experiencing an acute suicidal crisis with emergency suicide prevention care through VA and non-VA facilities. Since 2023, almost 50,000 Veterans have used this benefit.

Background

The Fox grant program extends VA's suicide prevention efforts into communities to reach Veterans who are not connected to VA care. In calendar year 2025, approximately 17,000 Veterans, service members and family members received services through Fox grantees. That's a 31 percent increase from 2024, and the number of Veterans served in 2026 is expected to be even higher.

In 2025, 344 at-risk Veterans were connected to life-saving emergency mental healthcare through these grants, and VA expects this number to rise in 2026. Fox grantees also connected 2,647 Veterans who had not previously used VHA services to VA care and resources, nearly 1,000 more than in 2024.

Sixty one percent of the Veterans who die by suicide were not in VHA care at any point in the two years prior to their death. That's why VA has taken steps to enroll new Veterans at VA. So far in 2026, VA has enrolled more than 270,000 Veterans into VA care.

For more information, contact Public Affairs at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center at 906-774-3300, ext. 34849.