VA offers suicide-prevention partnership and free SAVE training to Fernley senior committee

Kim Donahue, a community engagement partnership coordinator with the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, told the Fernley Senior Citizens Advisory Committee that the VA can partner with local groups to reduce veteran suicide risk and improve connections to care. She described the VA's community role across several counties and offered free SAVE (Signs, Ask, Validate, Encourage/ Expedite) training for community members.

Donahue said the VA's community engagement staff are embedded in mental-health teams and can help form coalitions, run events and provide program evaluation and logistical support. "We can offer gun locks, medication safes and training to help secure lethal means," she said, adding that the materials and training are free. She emphasized that the VA's approach is to promote safety while respecting veterans' identities.

Committee members asked Donahue to leave flyers and contact information and suggested hosting VA outreach in a future newsletter or a coffee-and-learn series. Albert Torres and other attendees noted existing partnerships with NAMI and offered to connect Donahue with local resources and warmline information. Donahue said an on-site connection at recent health and wellness events helped a family link a veteran with dementia to VA services and ultimately regain employment.

Why it matters: Committee members said their work and events reach many veterans and older adults who can benefit from suicide-prevention training and lethal-means-safety supplies. Donahue's offer gives the committee concrete options for outreach at senior events and for training volunteers and staff.

The committee agreed to accept Donahue's materials and contact information and to explore coordinated outreach at future events. Donahue encouraged committee members to request the free SAVE training and to distribute the VA's contact details for follow-up.