City and county officials and mental-health providers in Houston outlined coordinated efforts Thursday to prevent veteran suicide and connect veterans to crisis and ongoing care.

At a press conference convened by the mayor's Office of Veterans and Military Affairs, Director Dimbo said Harris County and the city of Houston have the largest federal population in the United States and that public agencies and nonprofit partners are working to ease the transition from military to civilian life and reduce veteran suicide risk.

The news conference emphasized practical measures and resources. Dave Lewis, executive director of the Harris County Veterans Services Department, highlighted the federally funded Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox suicide prevention grant his office uses to fund community-based programming and mental-health referrals. "You do not have to be the one who is suicidal. Anyone can call that number," Lewis said of the Veterans Crisis Line and the three-digit crisis code 988. He also urged use of the county crisis line at 281-876-6600 (press 3) and the county website Harrisvets.com for guidance.

Lewis reported an increase in Harris County veteran suicides in 2024 compared with 2023 and said 76% of veterans who died by suicide in the county used a weapon, which informed local emphasis on lethal-means safety. He described the Texas 2 Step campaign (tx2step.org), which promotes temporarily securing weapons and other measures to reduce immediate access during a crisis.

Elizabeth Cleeman, a licensed clinical social worker at the Houston VA, described VA clinical capacity in the region and the role of crisis services. "In a crisis, veterans have access to our emergency department staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by mental health clinicians," Cleeman said. She said the VA's suicide-prevention team fields calls from the Veterans Crisis Line and that Compact Act legislation allows veterans in acute suicide crisis to receive care at any emergency department without charge. She also said the VA provides same-day engagement, gun locks and referrals to housing services through the Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC).

Wayne Young, CEO of the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, described the center as a regional safety net and said it is one of four Texas centers that answer 988 calls, handling roughly half of the state's 988 volume. "We don't differentiate people or serve them differently based on their ability to pay," Young said, and he offered the local crisis number 713-970-7000 as a direct portal to mobile crisis outreach and same-day clinic access.

Representatives from the Harris County Sheriff's Office described field programs that pair clinicians with officers and a tablet-based clinician video link called CORE that connects deputies and officers to remote clinicians. Sergeant Gomez said 18 police agencies participate and that Harris County Veterans Services will be integrated into the tablet system to provide field navigation to veteran-specific supports.

Speakers also announced community-level supports: Councilmember Abby Kamen's firearm storage initiative was credited for enabling temporary, penalty-free storage of firearms for individuals in crisis; several community organizations agreed to serve as seven-day drop-off sites for warming clothing and blankets (VFW Post 8790 at 1560 VFW Way; American Legion Post 654 at 3105 Campbell Road; and The Palm Church at 1114 MLK Boulevard). Cleeman and Lewis said free gun locks and chamber flags are available through VA and partner programs.

The session closed with City Councilmember and veterans liaison Councilman Davis thanking agencies and pledging ongoing support for veterans. No formal votes or ordinances were announced at the event; the meeting was informational and focused on resource coordination and outreach.

Ending: Organizers encouraged anyone concerned about a veteran in crisis to call 988 (press 1 for veterans) or the local numbers cited above, to use temporary firearm-storage options and to connect with the listed community partners for housing or warming-clothing assistance.