Warner, Kaine Announce $4.5 Million to Expand Mental Health Resources for Virginia Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $4.5 million in federal grants to support suicide prevention efforts for veterans. This funding is made possible by the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which was created via bipartisan legislation that Warner wrote and Kaine helped pass into law to support community-based initiatives that connect veterans and their families to outreach programs, prevention services, and resources through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and local communities.

“Too many veterans silently suffer with their mental health when their tours of duty conclude. It is our responsibility as lawmakers to make sure that those who have served and sacrificed for our country have the support and resources they deserve,” said Warner. “I’m proud to have helped advance the legislation that makes this funding possible, and I’m glad that Virginia’s veterans will receive more support as we continue to tackle the alarming rate of veteran suicide.”

“Our nation makes a sacred promise to the men and women who serve: that when they come home, they’ll have the support and opportunities they need and deserve,” said Kaine. “I’m proud to have helped pass this legislation to fund crucial community-based veteran suicide prevention efforts across the Commonwealth.”

The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program was created through the IMPROVE Wellbeing for Veterans Act, legislation led by Warner in 2019 to improve the coordination of veteran mental health and suicide prevention services and to better measure the effectiveness of these programs. The legislation was signed into law as part of the broader Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, which was passed unanimously in the Senate in August 2020. In February 2025, Warner introduced bipartisan legislation to renew and expand the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program. In June 2025, Warner testified before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to advocate for this program’s extension.

The grants will be distributed as follows:

1. Western Tidewater Community Services Board will receive $613,911 to serve the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, as well as Accomack, Essex, Isle of Wight, King and Queen, Matthews, Middlesex, Northampton, Sussex, Southampton, and Washington counties.
2. Volunteers of America Chesapeake will receive $750,000 to serve the cities of Alexandria, Bristol, Chesapeake, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Norton, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, and Winchester, as well as Arlington, Augusta, Chesterfield, Culpeper, Cumberland, Fairfax, Fauquier, King and Queen, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties.
3. Boulder Crest Foundation will receive $725,000 to serve Clarke, Frederick, and Loudoun counties.
4. Blue Star Families will receive $750,000 to serve the city of Norfolk.
5. EveryMind will receive $750,000 to serve the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, and Manassas Park, as well as Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties.
6. United States Veterans Initiative will receive $400,000 to serve Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren counties.
7. Westcare Kentucky will receive $512,053 to serve Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise counties.

Warner and Kaine have long been strong advocates for improving mental health care for Virginia’s veterans. In addition to his legislative efforts, Warner has repeatedly met with senior leadership at the Richmond VA Medical Center and Hampton VA Medical Center to discuss suicide prevention and other issues affecting the local veteran community. Kaine has led legislation to protect veterans from housing discrimination and address homelessness and cosponsored legislation to improve veteran transition programs aimed at reducing veteran suicide. He has also been outspoken against the Trump Administration’s cuts at the VA and the mass layoffs of federal employees, which disproportionately affect veterans.

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