VA Report Shows Decrease in Veteran Suicides, Names Suicide Prevention Grantees and Finalists

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently released the 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which shows that Veteran suicides decreased in 2020 for the second year in a row, and that fewer Veterans died by suicide in 2020 than in any year since 2006.

VA also announced the grantees for the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, a first-of-its-kind program that provides VA funding for local suicide prevention programs. Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry and Veterans Bridge Home are the two North Carolina organizations awarded the grant.

Mecklenburg County and North Carolina have been partnering with VA and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on the Mayor’s and Governor’s Challenge since 2019. The initiative advances a public health approach to suicide prevention by bringing together key state leaders to develop strategic action plans focused on Veteran suicide prevention.

Veteran Services Supervisor Crystal Miller gave an update on the challenge at the September meeting of the Governor’s Working Group for Veterans, Service Members and Families. You can view her presentation slides here: https://ncgwg.org/minutes-and-group-updates/

You can also watch the recorded meeting on the Governor’s Institute’s Facebook page.

Key findings from VA report: https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5823