Mountain Valor Receives Suicide Prevention Grant
Mountain Valor received notification of a more than $350,000 grant from the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs Sept. 29. The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant will support a full year of community-based suicide prevention services for veterans and their families across Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski, Franklin, Carroll, Patrick, and Wythe counties beginning Oct. 1.
“Rural veterans in Southwest Virginia have been carrying too much for too long, and too many of us have been doing it alone,” said Kathryn Whittenberger, executive director of Mountain Valor Veteran Services and Navy veteran. “This grant means we can expand how we show up for our brothers and sisters in arms, in the way they deserve: in person, where the need is, with real resources, and the kind of follow-through that catches people who are falling through the cracks.”
Veterans across the region face structural and cultural barriers to care. Many communities lack reliable transportation and functional internet service, while benefits information remains primarily online or available at the VA medical centers. Rural veterans in particular often take pride in their independence and ability to push through challenges, and many distrust institutions. As a result, some avoid the VA and state veteran services, or don’t realize they are eligible for either. Research consistently shows that most veterans who die by suicide had not recently used VA health care before their deaths.
The funded program will reach veterans who are not connected to the VA. Mountain Valor does not provide clinical or mental health treatment. Instead, the organization tackles isolation, unmet basic needs, and disconnection from resources, which are all factors that research identifies as primary drivers of veteran suicide risk. To connect with veterans in need, Mountain Valor meets them wherever they or their family members feel comfortable. The organization then creates a personalized roadmap for each veteran and stays alongside them until the work is done.
“Mountain Valor has helped our family understand the benefits, both for my husband, a Navy veteran, but also our children and myself,” said Latima Good, of Floyd. “Having access to those benefits has relieved so much of our stress, and knowing we can always reach out with more questions or if a new situation arises gives us a deep sense of confidence that we will have the help we need when we need it.”
Since its founding in 2024, MountainValor has reached more than 3,000 veterans across the region and served more than 1,200 in person.
The Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act funds the SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which the VA Office of Suicide Prevention administers. Mountain Valor is one of a select group of community- based organizations nationwide receiving funding through the program’s FY2027 cycle.
