A state-funded veteran suicide prevention campaign is coming to Chester County in mid-October. Pennsylvania recorded 268 veteran deaths by suicide in 2023, a 16% jump from 2021, and the state is spending $143,947 to expand firearm safety and mental health resources for veterans statewide.
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) announced the grant at a Tuesday, Sept. 22, roundtable at the American Legion State Headquarters in Wormleysburg, as first reported by MyChesCo. The roundtable fell during National Suicide Prevention Month.
The funding flows through PCCD's federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) and backs DMVA's Plan. Pause. Protect. campaign. The campaign distributes firearm cable locks and safe-storage devices to veterans and hosts safety-planning workshops across the state.
A second Plan. Pause. Protect. event is scheduled for Chester County in mid-October, according to a PCCD news release. A specific date, venue and registration details have not been announced. The first event drew more than 15 partner organizations on Aug. 15 at Waynesburg University in Greene County.
The workshops go beyond traditional outreach. At the Greene County event, staff printed photos of veterans' personal reasons for living and turned them into magnets and tags that attach to firearm cases or safes.
"… Any time you go to access it, that reminder is there," program manager Patti Tanner told WITF in a Sept. 21 interview.
The grant targets the commonwealth's more than 650,000 veterans, active service members and their families. Firearms account for nearly three-quarters of veteran suicides, the agencies reported, and the firearm suicide rate among veterans has climbed 65% since 2001. Veterans made up 19% of Pennsylvania gun-death suicides in 2023.
Maj. Gen. John Pippy, Pennsylvania's adjutant general and head of DMVA, called veteran self-harm "one of the most pressing social issues we face" at the Tuesday, Sept. 22, roundtable.
Chester County is building its own veteran crisis infrastructure alongside the state effort. The county launched a Veterans Response Team (VRT) training program in June, pairing law enforcement officers who have military experience with community agencies that serve veterans, according to Chester County's announcement. The county's Crisis Intervention Team program, now in its ninth year, has graduated more than 400 participants from 31 municipal police departments, along with corrections officers and sheriff's deputies. The next VRT session is set for November.
DMVA plans additional Plan. Pause. Protect. events into 2027.
Upcoming
- Plan. Pause. Protect. event, Chester County, mid-October (date and venue to be announced by DMVA)
- Chester County Veterans Response Team training, November
Veterans in crisis can reach the Veterans Crisis Line around the clock by calling 988 and pressing 1, or by texting 838255.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
