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Allegany County veterans office to provide statewide mental health training, will apply for VA suicide-prevention grant
Summary
The county Veterans Office accepted a $10,000 contract to deliver seven statewide mental health first aid trainings for Veteran Service Officers and voted to pursue a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs suicide-prevention grant worth $100,000–$750,000 to expand local services for veterans and families.
The Allegany County Veterans Office told the Personnel Committee on April 1 that it received a contract from the New York State Department of Veterans Services to deliver seven mental health first aid trainings at state-designated sites, serving up to 210 veteran service officers. The county will receive $10,000 to cover program expenses and travel, the presenter said.
The office also requested committee permission to apply for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grants, which have award amounts ranging from $100,000 to $750,000. According to the presenter, the grant would fund a public-health approach to community intervention for veterans, military members and their families, including counseling and clinical services in rural areas at no charge to participants.
"The contract's for $10,000 to cover expenses for the program and travel for our office," the Veterans Office representative said. He told committee members the county is assembling a coalition of county and non-county partners to develop the grant proposal and outlined that awarded funding would enable free programming and clinical work targeted to veterans and their families.
Committee members asked about suicide statistics and who would be served. The presenter cited 2024 figures he said indicate about 18 veteran deaths per day and said female veterans show a higher incidence of suicide; those numbers were presented as the speaker's characterization of available data and were not accompanied by committee-supplied sources in the meeting record.
The committee approved the request to pursue the VA grant by voice vote (motion moved and seconded on the record). The Veterans Office said it will continue partner outreach and bring any required contract documents or updates back to the committee for formal authorization before executing grant agreements or contracts.
Next steps: staff will prepare the grant application materials and report back to the committee if the county is invited to apply or if the county receives an award.
