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Senate honors RedStar Foundation; CEO and VA secretary push veteran suicide prevention
Summary
The Georgia Senate adopted a resolution recognizing the RedStar Foundation's work on veteran, military and first-responder suicide prevention. Jerry Schaefer, RedStar CEO, and U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins addressed the chamber, urging community partnerships and outlining VA operational changes.
The Georgia State Senate unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 768 recognizing the RedStar Foundation for suicide-prevention work among military members, veterans and first responders.
Jerry Schaefer, chief executive officer of the RedStar Foundation, thanked the Senate for adopting the resolution and described RedStar’s mission. "Every day in this country, we lose veterans and first responders to suicide. 44 veterans per day, 16,000 per year," Schaefer said, urging lawmakers to treat the issue as a community-wide responsibility and noting RedStar’s Red Star Banner honoring families of those lost to suicide.
Senators thanked RedStar advisers and veterans in the gallery and praised efforts to build survivor and outreach networks. Senator Matt Brass was singled out for initiating the resolution and leadership on the issue.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins also addressed the chamber, describing operational reforms at the VA he said were aimed at reaching veterans not in the VA system and reducing administrative backlogs. Collins said the VA reduced a backlog of disability claims "from 260,000 to 90,000" in under a year and reported an average time to decision that had dropped from about 137 days to about 77 days; he said the department’s goal is to reach 30–45 days by year’s end.
Where the Senate adopted the resolution, speakers called for sustained partnerships among lawmakers, faith leaders, nonprofits and communities to prevent suicide and support veterans.
What’s next: Adoption of the resolution does not create binding policy but signals legislative recognition and support for cross-sector prevention work. Senate leaders and RedStar said they expect to continue collaboration.
