The Salvation Army will receive $747,190 in federal funding to provide suicide prevention services to veterans in Rockwall County and three neighboring counties.

The grant, announced Tuesday, Sept. 29, comes through the Department of Veterans Affairs' Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program. It covers Collin, Dallas, Ellis and Rockwall counties, as first reported by WFAA. Funds become available at the start of fiscal year 2027, which begins Oct. 1.

The grant targets a gap in care. In 2023, 61% of veterans who died by suicide were not receiving VA healthcare in the final year of their lives, according to the VA. Nationally, 6,398 veterans died by suicide that year, according to Newsweek's review of the VA's annual report.

Rockwall County is home to roughly 6,850 veterans, according to 2020–2024 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

"Suicide prevention works best when it starts in the community, with people Veterans already know and trust," Jason Cave, executive medical center director of the VA North Texas Health Care System, said in the WFAA report. "This $7.5 million investment strengthens that front line across Texas."

The Salvation Army's award is part of $7.5 million distributed to 15 community organizations across Texas. Statewide, the funding is part of a $112 million national effort awarding grants to 191 organizations. VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement that community organizations serve as a bridge between federal resources and veterans who might not otherwise connect with VA care.

The Fox grant program is named for Staff Sgt. Parker Gordon Fox, an Army sniper instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia, who died by suicide on July 21, 2020, at age 25. Since its launch in September 2022, the program has funded organizations in 49 states, U.S. territories and Tribal lands.

In 2025, Fox program grantees nationwide served roughly 17,000 veterans, service members and family members. That marked a 31% increase from 2024. Grantees connected 344 at-risk veterans to emergency mental health care and helped 2,647 veterans access VA care for the first time, according to the VA.

The Salvation Army of North Texas operates across Dallas, Rockwall, Tarrant, Ellis, Denton and Collin counties. Its Garland Corps and Community Center serves families in Garland, Sachse, Rowlett and the Rockwall area. The grant funds services including outreach, mental health screening, peer support, case management and help with transportation, legal services and financial counseling, according to the VA's program description.

A second North Texas organization, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, received $750,000 to serve locations in Oklahoma and Texas, including Dallas, Fannin and Lamar counties. The two North Texas awards total nearly $1.5 million.

Veterans in crisis can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting online at VeteransCrisisLine.net.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.