10-06-2026 10:10pm

McBride Pathways for Veterans Awarded $500,465 for Suicide Prevention Services

Beth Callahan Editor

WARREN COUNTY, OH -- McBride Pathways for Veterans, which serves veterans in Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties, has been awarded $500,465 through a federal program aimed at expanding community-based suicide prevention services.

The funding is part of $2.5 million in grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to six Ohio organizations. Nationwide, the VA awarded $112 million to 191 organizations through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program.

The grants will become available at the beginning of fiscal year 2027.

The Fox grant program is designed to help community organizations reach veterans who may not be connected to VA health care. According to the VA, 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 — the most recent year for which data is available — had not received VA health care during the final year of their lives.

“Community organizations play a vital role in strengthening the support network available to Ohio Veterans,” Cincinnati VA Medical Center Executive Director Zachary Sage said in a news release. “These grants provide Veterans with lifesaving support and ensure they have access to the care and resources they deserve right here in our community.”

The program provides funding to nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and other community-based organizations that have demonstrated an ability to serve veterans.

VA officials said the grants are intended to supplement the agency’s broader suicide prevention efforts by reaching veterans in their own communities, particularly those who have not sought care through the VA.

In 2025, approximately 17,000 veterans, service members and family members received services through organizations funded by the Fox grant program, according to the VA. That represented a 31% increase from 2024.

The VA said 344 at-risk veterans were connected with emergency mental health care through Fox grant recipients in 2025. Another 2,647 veterans who had not previously used Veterans Health Administration services were connected with VA care and resources.

The VA also reported that its Veterans Crisis Line handled more than 1.3 million calls, chats and text messages during fiscal year 2026 through Sept. 20.

Veterans experiencing an acute mental health crisis may also receive emergency suicide prevention care through VA and qualifying non-VA facilities. Nearly 50,000 veterans have used that benefit since 2023, according to the VA.

Veterans Crisis Line

Veterans in crisis — or anyone concerned about a veteran — can receive confidential help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Veterans do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use the service.

Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.