HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) — With the September being National Suicide Prevention Month, Virginia U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine have announced $4,549,848 in federal funding for suicide prevention efforts targeted towards Virginia’s veterans.

The funding, courtesy of the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, will support community-based prevention efforts to meet the needs of veterans and their families through outreach, prevention services, and connection to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and community resources.

“Too many veterans are silently suffering with their mental health when their tours of duty conclude. That’s why it is our duty to make sure that servicemembers, who sacrificed so much for our freedom and security, have the support and resources they deserve when they are struggling,” said Sen. Warner. “I was proud to help write the legislation that made this funding possible, and I am thrilled that Virginia’s veterans will receive more support as we continue to tackle the alarming rate of veteran suicide.”

The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program was created through the Warner-sponsored IMPROVE Wellbeing for Veterans Act, legislation introduced in 2019 to improve coordination of veteran mental health and suicide prevention services and to better measure the effectiveness of these programs in order to reduce the alarming number of veteran suicides.

“Our veterans have made great sacrifices for our nation, and we owe it to them to provide them with the best support possible, including mental health resources,” said Sen. Kaine. “I’m proud this funding, made possible by legislation I helped pass, will expand community-based suicide prevention efforts for veterans across Virginia.”

One of the organizations receiving funding Volunteers of America Chesapeake, who is getting $750,000 to help serve Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah Counties as well as the city of Harrisonburg.