Senator Coons celebrates over $600,000 awarded to Delaware for veteran suicide prevention services

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced Delaware’s first-ever grant through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, a $626,870 award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to the Mental Health Association in Delaware to expand suicide prevention and mental health services for veterans. The SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program provides funding to community organizations working to reduce veteran suicide and expand access to mental health services. The award follows bipartisan efforts by Senators Coons and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to expand access to SSG Fox funding. The senators introduced the Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act last year, and successfully secured report language in the FY26 MilCon-VA appropriations bill directing the VA to prioritize applications from states that had not previously received funding. “For too long, Delaware veterans have been shut out of a program designed to support them, and Delaware has been left behind by Washington in its effort to ensure that every veteran who comes home has help when they need it,” said Senator Coons . “I’m proud that my bipartisan work with Senator Cramer changed that, and I’m grateful to the Mental Health Association in Delaware for putting this funding to work and making sure more veterans can get the care they need.” “We are incredibly honored to be a recipient of the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant. For 16 years, the Mental Health Association in Delaware has been committed to supporting service members, veterans, and their families through our Annual Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit and throughout our broader work in the community. This grant allows us to take that commitment even further. With this funding, we will expand suicide prevention efforts for veterans and for the individuals and organizations that support them. We will also add three peer mentors/case managers to Veterans Treatment Court, one in each county, creating greater access to connection, support, and resources for veterans when they need them most. This is the first time Delaware has received this funding, and we recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with it. We are honored to be entrusted with this opportunity and deeply committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those who have served our country. Our veterans have given so much to all of us; this grant gives us an opportunity to give back by strengthening the safety net of support around them and their families. We are ready to do this work, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve those who have served,” said Jennifer Smolowitz Ianni, executive director, Mental Health Association in Delaware . With a long history of military service and a major military presence anchored by Dover Air Force Base, Delaware is home to tens of thousands of veterans and military families. Despite $174 million authorized for the SSG Fox program since its founding in fiscal year 2021, until this year, neither Delaware or North Dakota had received funding.