Annville, PA – The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) has launched a statewide suicide prevention initiative to support Pennsylvania’s service members, veterans and their families (SMVF), thanks to the Shapiro Administration’s $143,947 investment through the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP).
“We are deeply grateful to the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency for approving DMVA for this extremely competitive grant,” said Maj. Gen. John Pippy, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the DMVA. “This funding allows us not only to continue, but to expand our critical work to reduce veteran suicide and strengthen support for service members, veterans and their families across the commonwealth. Together, we can build awareness, strengthen connections and ensure no veteran faces these challenges alone.”
“Preventing suicide among our veteran population is a shared responsibility, and this funding underscores the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s commitment to statewide collaboration to make our communities safer,” said Kirsten Kenyon, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). “Through this partnership with DMVA, we are investing in comprehensive, evidence-based strategies such as safety planning, lethal means safety strategies and cable lock distribution that provide critical resources to service members, veterans and their families, while reinforcing Pennsylvania’s broader mission to reduce gun violence and prevent suicide in every community.”
Today’s investment will allow the DMVA to work with partner agencies to host regional Lethal Means Safety (LMS) events throughout the commonwealth to educate the public about suicide prevention and lethal means safety -- including safety planning and ‘reasons for living’ artifact workshops. Additionally, DMVA will be able to expand on federal and state prevention efforts and distribute firearm cable locks and safe storage devices - to include digital pistol vaults, handgun cases, and gun case locks - to Pennsylvania veterans.
The Byrne SCIP was established under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022) and is administered federally through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. In Pennsylvania, the State Administering Agency for SCIP funding is the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
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