Mental Health
Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program
Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grants
Announcements
Awards have been announced for the Fiscal Year 2023. Click here for the list of awardees.
Last updated: September 20, 2023
About the Program
The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) enables VA to provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of Veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and connection to VA and community resources. In alignment with VA’s National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide (2018), this grant program assists in further implementing a public health approach that blends community-based prevention with evidence-based clinical strategies through community efforts. The grant program is part of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, signed into law on October 17, 2020. Click the Hannon Act Fact Sheet to learn more.
Congress has authorized $174 million to be appropriated to carry out the SSG Fox SPGP, a three-year community-based grant program that provides resources to community organizations serving certain Veterans and their families across the country. Organizations can apply for grants worth up to $750,000 and may apply to renew awards from year to year throughout the length of the program. Grants will be awarded to organizations that provide or coordinate suicide prevention services for eligible individuals at risk of suicide and their families that qualify, including:
- Outreach to identify those at risk of suicide
- Baseline mental health screening for risk (required of all grantees for participants ages 18+)
- Education on suicide risk and prevention to families and communities
- Provision of clinical services for emergency treatment
- Case management services
- Peer support services
- VA benefits assistance for eligible individuals and their families
- Assistance with obtaining and coordinating other benefits provided by the federal government, a state or local government, or an eligible entity
- Assistance with emergent needs relating to health care services, daily living services, personal financial planning and counseling, transportation services, temporary income support services, fiduciary and representative payee services, legal services to assist the eligible individual with issues that may contribute to the risk of suicide, and child care
- Nontraditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices, as determined appropriate by VA
- Other services necessary for improving the mental health status and well-being and reducing the suicide risk of eligible individuals and their families as VA determines appropriate
VA may prioritize grant awards to organizations that focus on areas with limited access to medical services, in rural communities, on tribal lands, in U.S. territories, in areas with a high number or percentage of minority Veterans or women Veterans, or in areas with a high number or percentage of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line.
List of Grantees
The Grantees for the Fiscal Year 2022 SSG Fox SPGP were announced on Sept. 19, 2022. Find a full list of grantees here for a list of awardees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Organizations that will be able to qualify include incorporated private institutions or foundations; a corporation wholly owned or controlled by an incorporated private institution or foundation; Indian tribes; community-based organizations that can effectively network with local civic organizations, regional health systems, and other settings where eligible individuals and their families are likely to have contact, and state or local governments.
Grants will be awarded to organizations that provide or coordinate suicide prevention services for individuals and their families that are eligible, including:
- Outreach to identify those at risk of suicide
- Baseline mental health screening for risk (required of all grantees for participants ages 18+)
- Education on suicide risk and prevention to families and communities
- Provision of clinical services for emergency treatment
- Case management services
- Peer support services
- VA benefits assistance for eligible individuals and their families
- Assistance with obtaining and coordinating other benefits provided by the federal government, a state or local government, or an eligible entity
- Assistance with emergent needs relating to health care services, daily living services, personal financial planning and counseling, transportation services, temporary income support services, fiduciary and representative payee services, legal services to assist the eligible individual with issues that may contribute to the risk of suicide, and child care
- Nontraditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices, as determined appropriate by VA
- Other services necessary for improving the mental health status and well-being and reducing the suicide risk of eligible individuals and their families as VA determines appropriate
The term “eligible individuals” includes a person at risk of suicide who, in general, served in the active military, naval, or air service and was discharged therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable as described in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), former Service members with other than honorable discharge status described in 38 U.S.C. 1720I(b), and those who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations under 38 U.S.C. 1712A(a)(1)(C)(i)-(iv).
Congress has authorized $174 million to be appropriated to carry out the SSG Fox SPGP. Organizations can apply for grants worth up to $750,000 and may apply to renew awards from year to year throughout the length of the program.
The CFR for the SSG Fox SPGP can be found here.
Congress has authorized $174 million to be appropriated to carry out the program for fiscal years 2021–2025. Certain regulatory, financial, and administrative tasks must be completed before grants are awarded.
VA may prioritize grant awards to organizations that focus on areas with limited access to medical services, in rural communities, on tribal lands, in U.S. territories, in areas with a high number or percentage of minority Veterans or women Veterans, or in areas with a high number or percentage of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line.
For more information, contact us at VASSGFoxGrants@va.gov.
The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) Guide is available for download here as a resource for applicants to the SSG Fox SPGP Program, SSG Fox SPGP grantees, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff members and other interested third parties involved in the SSG Fox SPGP Program.
The purpose of SSG Fox SPGP Program Guide is to provide an overview of the Suicide Prevention Services for eligible individuals and their families. This Program Guide has force for oversight, auditing, monitoring and program review purposes.
The guidelines provided in this Program Guide are intended to be consistent with SSG Fox SPGP Program, the regulations (38 CFR Part 78), other applicable laws, Executive Orders, Title 2 of the Code of the Federal Register Part 200 (2 CFR 200) and VA regulations. Guidelines should not be construed to supersede, rescind or otherwise amend such laws, Executive Orders, 2 CFR 200 and regulations.
About Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox
SSG Fox SPGP honors Veteran Parker Gordon Fox, who joined the Army in 2014 and was a sniper instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Known for a life of generosity and kindness to others in need, Fox died by suicide on July 21, 2020, at the age of 25.
About the Hannon Act
The Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act (Hannon Act), broadens mental health care and suicide prevention programs that will effectively evaluate and treat mental health conditions for Veterans. The Hannon Act’s 34 sections build upon VA’s existing mental health services and will improve access options for Veterans. VA is committed to the men and women who have served our country and continues to advocate for better mental health and early intervention services. We proudly partner with federal and local agencies and private entities to achieve our shared goal of preventing Veteran suicide.
For more information about the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, contact us at VASSGFoxGrants@va.gov.
Download the SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Fact Sheet here.
