$4 Million In Funding Available In Funding Round 6
To Eligible Organizations That Apply, Qualify, And Are Approved
(Richmond) The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is seeking to award $4 million in grants to support veteran suicide prevention and opioid addiction services and other programs throughout the Commonwealth for state Fiscal Year (FY) 2027.
In 2022, DVS developed the Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addiction Services (SOS) Program to help end the epidemic of veteran suicide and opioid addiction and was tasked to build federal, state, and local partnerships to accomplish this life saving mission. DVS awarded $4 million in SOS grants to local organizations in FY2026.
The SOS Program aims to enhance understanding of suicide prevention and opioid addiction among service members, veterans, and their families (SMVF) and build community support capacity to ensure that professional help and assistance is widely available for Virginia’s military-connected population.
The SOS Program serves as the steward of these grant funds and is now formally soliciting a Request for Applications (RFA) to expand community-based interventions, peer-to-peer networks, and harm reduction services across the Commonwealth. This is the 6th round of SOS funding.
“Preventing suicide and opioid addiction among our military veterans and their families is a critical mission of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services,” said John Maxwell, DVS Commissioner. “We are proud to partner with a variety of organizations who receive these valuable grant funds to support service members, veterans, and their families.”
Grant funds will be used to promote the use of evidence-based practices addressing suicide prevention and/or opioid addiction for SMVF in the following priority areas: outreach to identify veterans at risk of suicide; baseline mental health, suicide risk, and substance use screening; education on suicide risk and prevention for families and communities; clinical services for treatment; case management services; peer support services; assistance in obtaining any VA or other federal, state or local benefits the veteran may be eligible to receive, including emergent needs; evidence based nontraditional and innovative prevention therapies; caregiver support; rural SMVF services; homeless veterans; justice involved veterans; overdose prevention; or supportive services for military life to civilian life transition. The maximum amount available per grant is $200,000.
Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity include Virginia-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), Community Services Boards (CSBs), tribal organizations, state and local government entities, and active for-profit subrecipients administering DVS RFA 5 community grant funding; please note that this fiscal cycle (DVS RFA 6) represents the final year of for-profit applicant eligibility.
To be considered for selection, applicants are to submit a complete response to the RFA no later than September 30, 2026, at 4:59 p.m. EST.
Application Submission Instructions: To be considered for selection, an applicant must register at https://grants.dvs.virginia.gov/index.do first to access the grants application. The SOS grants portal uses the federal unique entity identifier (UEI) number and an Employer Identification Number (EIN). To request a UEI number, visit https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.
Application assistance tutorials can be found on the SOS grants portal under announcements: https://grants.dvs.virginia.gov/index.do.
About the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS)
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is a state government agency with more than 50 locations across the Commonwealth of Virginia. DVS traces its history to 1928 and the establishment of the Virginia War Service Bureau to assist Virginia’s World War I veterans. Today, DVS assists veterans and their families in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; provides veterans and family members with linkages to services including behavioral health, housing, employment, education, and other programs. The agency operates long-term care facilities offering in-patient skilled nursing care, dementia/memory care, and short-term rehabilitation for veterans; and provides an honored final resting place for veterans and their families at three state veterans cemeteries. It operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth’s tribute to Virginia’s men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice from World War II to the present. For more information, please visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.
