Nearly 200 U.S. military veterans living in Georgia died by suicide in 2020, contributing to a total of 6,146 veteran suicides nationwide that year. Kennesaw State’s Center for the Advancement of Military and Emergency Services (AMES) and the Georgia Department of Veterans Service (GDVS) are now partnering to help reduce this tragedy.

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in support of its Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, AMES and GDVS will work to identify veterans in most need of intervention. The three-year grant totaling close to $750,000 per year is awarded to community-based organizations with innovative ideas for preventing veteran suicide.

“I look forward to seeing the Georgia Department of Veterans Service and Kennesaw State University Center for AMES Research use these funds to better serve those who have served our nation,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “We all owe a great debt to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. In Georgia, we will continue working to ensure our brave veterans receive the help they need when facing uncertainty, despair, and other challenges.”

AMES Director Brian Moore called the partnership with GDVS an opportunity to enhance veteran care in the state and identify the most urgent need in long-term behavioral healthcare for veterans and their families. Moore also said he and fellow AMES researcher, Israel Sanchez-Cardona, are excited to see AMES, which launched in the spring, receiving attention as a go-to veteran research center in the state so quickly.

“With this grant, we will be able to engage veterans in all of Georgia’s counties and assist in the rapid identification of those in greatest need,” Moore said. “This is an incredible and unprecedented opportunity to continue to serve those who have served our communities, state, and nation. We are so excited to partner with Commissioner Patricia Ross and her team to serve all eligible veterans in Georgia.”