September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

On September 9, we were proud to host our first Voices & Vision: Suicide Awareness & Prevention event in London, Kentucky in partnership with Whitney/Strong. We were honored to have Senator Brandon Storm provide opening remarks and thank him for being so present in the community and for his support of this important cause. The day featured a powerful keynote from Dr. Sabrina Brown and two impactful panels highlighting expert and lived experiences from across a variety of industries.

The event concluded with a QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training led by Whitney/Strong, equipping attendees with life-saving tools to recognize and respond to those in crisis.

A heartfelt thank-you to all of our community partners who shared their time, insights, and expertise with our audience. Together, we’re building hope and saving lives.

Through the MIPS program, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs aims to improve the mental stability to Veteran’s, their families, Active-Duty members, their families, and Veterans who are First Responders and their families by providing intensive case management and assisting participants to obtain VA benefits and other public resources. 

Eligible Veterans may receive Temporary Income Support dependent upon their unique situation. MIPS links Veterans and their family members with other appropriate service providers, including local VA Medical Center and Community-Based Outreach Clinics, veterans’ representatives at the Department for Employment Services, community-based services, and other service providers. Referrals and linkages are also made with partner agencies, and can include services for non-traditional therapy, food, clothing, legal, substance use treatment, health care, mental health counseling / treatment and job skills training.

Services or Referrals provided for:

• Emergent clinic service referral
• Wellness needs, Mental Health referrals
• Non-traditional therapy (Reiki, float tank, etc.)
• Other Suicide Prevention Services (Equine, substance use reduction programs, group & family counseling, etc.)
• Financial planning counseling and budgeting/stability services/referrals
• Vocational readiness and employment referrals/services
• Substance use disorder counseling/referrals
• Legal services/referrals
• Social support services/referrals
• Housing benefit referrals 
• Assistance in applying for disability benefits 
• Transportation assistance 
• Emergency food assistance/referrals 
• Gun locks 
• Locked medication storage 
• General housing supplies 
• Childcare assistance/referrals 
• Safe space 
• Education in the community 
• Temporary Income support assistance

Contact Us:

Dustin Starnes, Program Manager at DustinS@voamid.org

Zach McFarland, Intake Coordinator at ZachM@voamid.org

This is a SSG Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program through the Department of VA