Virginia Department of Veterans Services Announces Grant Funds To Support Veteran Suicide Prevention And Opioid Addiction Services
$4 Million In Grants Available To Assist
Community-Based Programs Throughout The Commonwealth
(Richmond) The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is seeking to award $4 million in grants to support Service Member, Veterans and their Families (SMVF) suicide prevention and opioid addiction services for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
In 2022, DVS developed the Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addiction Services (SOS) Program to help end the epidemic of SMVF suicide and opioid addiction and was tasked to build Federal, State, and local partnerships with profit and non-profit organizations to accomplish this life saving mission.
The SOS program aims to enhance understanding of suicide prevention and opioid addiction among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) and build community support capacity to ensure the RIGHT HELP is widely available RIGHT NOW for military-connected citizens and families.
The SOS program will serve as the steward of these funds and is formally accepting applications through a Request for Applications (RFA) to establish awards for community-based suicide prevention and opioid addiction services in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“The fight against suicide is a collective effort,” said Chuck Zingler, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services. “DVS is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA,) other state agencies and the organizations receiving these valuable grant funds to provide extended resources to support the SMVF community every step of the way.”
Grant funds will be used to promote the use of best practices addressing suicide prevention and/or opioid addiction for SMVF in the following categories: women veterans, homeless veterans, justice involved veterans, caregiver support, and/or financial stability/literacy.
Eligible applicants must be a for profit or non-profit organization or community service provider/organization/locality serving Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For all non-profit organizations, proof of an IRS 501(c)3 designation is required at the time of application.
To be considered for selection, applicants are to submit a complete response to the RFA no later than May 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Application Submission Instructions: To be considered for selection, an applicant must register at https://grants.dvs.virginia.gov/index.do first to access the grant application. The SOS grants portal uses a unique entity identifier (UEI) number and an Employer Identification Number (EIN). To request a UEI number, visit https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.
Application assistance tutorials can be found on the SOS grants portal under announcements here: https://grants.dvs.virginia.gov/index.do.