WORMLEYSBURG, PA — Pennsylvania is deploying $143,947 in federal grant funding to expand veteran suicide prevention efforts, including firearm safety resources and community programs, as the state recorded 268 veteran deaths by suicide in 2023, up 16% from 2021.
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency outlined the initiative Monday during a suicide prevention roundtable at the American Legion State Headquarters in Wormleysburg. The effort is intended to reach the commonwealth’s more than 650,000 veterans, active service members and their families.
The funding comes through PCCD’s federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program and supports DMVA’s Plan. Pause. Protect. campaign. DMVA was one of six recipients selected last December under a PCCD initiative focused on firearm suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
The program is funding mental health and suicide prevention events across Pennsylvania, including safety-planning and “reasons for living” workshops. DMVA is also distributing firearm cable locks and safe-storage devices to veterans as part of its focus on lethal-means safety.
The initiative comes as firearms account for a significant share of suicide deaths among veterans. According to the agencies, the firearm suicide rate among veterans has increased 65% since 2001, while female veterans face a 144% higher risk of firearm suicide and male veterans an almost 70% greater risk.
“Veteran self-harm is one of the most pressing social issues we face,” Maj. Gen. John Pippy, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of DMVA, stated. He described the campaign as an effort to increase awareness while connecting veterans with assistance.
The agencies reported that more than 60% of Pennsylvania gun deaths in 2023 were suicides and that veterans accounted for 19% of those deaths. They also cited a 90% fatality rate for firearm suicide attempts compared with other methods.
DMVA held its first Plan. Pause. Protect. event Aug. 15 in Greene County with more than 15 partner organizations. A second event is scheduled for Chester County in mid-October, extending the campaign into southeastern Pennsylvania.
PCCD Executive Director Kirsten Kenyon described the grant as an investment in strategies intended to connect service members, veterans and their families with resources while addressing firearm suicide.
PCCD’s broader efforts include funding co-responder programs, Crisis Intervention Teams and the statewide CIT Training and Technical Assistance Center. Its Office of Gun Violence Prevention has also developed recommendations addressing firearm suicide as part of the agency’s work to reduce gun injuries and deaths.
The Department of Human Services is also participating in the state’s veteran suicide prevention work. Its Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has worked with other state agencies through the Pennsylvania Suicide Prevention Task Force since 2019, according to the release.
DMVA also operates PA VETConnect, which uses community-based providers to connect veterans with services addressing mental health, addiction, homelessness, employment and other needs. Pennsylvania additionally participates in the federal Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans and their Families.
Veterans in crisis, or people concerned about a veteran, can reach the Veterans Crisis Line around the clock by calling 988 and pressing 1 or texting 838255.
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