Thank you to everyone who attended our 2024 Quarter 3 Partnership meeting on 9/11/24! We had a wonderful turn out and greatly appreciate VA Suicide Prevention team coming to present to our group. By watching the recording of the meeting you will: Have a general understanding of the scope of Veteran suicide within the United States. Know how to identify a Veteran who may be at risk for suicide. Know what to do when you identify a Veteran at risk. Explain why communities are key in preventing suicide amongst Veterans Learn how you or your agency can become a VA Community Partner and help: Identify Veterans and/or military family members with suicide risk Promote connectedness Increase lethal means and safety planning VA Suicide Prevention Staff: La Wanda C. L. Girton, MSW, LCSW Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center Cell: 317-556-5340 lawanda.girton@va.gov Melissa Weber, LCSW Suicide Prevention Coordinator Roudebush VA Medical Center 317-988-2078; ext 182078 melissa.weber1@va.gov Resources from today's meeting: How to request tele-mental health Working together to Prevent Suicide - Contact La Wanda and become a Community Engagement Partner! Copy of today's HVPI Quarter 3 Meeting PowerPoint.

Thank you to everyone that attended our Partnership meeting on 6/15/24. We had a very informative presentation by Erin Hamilton from the VA National Cemetery. Erin shared a plethora of great information. Here are 3 takeaways that hospice agencies can do to help Veterans and their families with planning for funeral arrangements are: 1. Make sure they have a copy of their DD14/military discharge paperwork: If they don’t, they can request a copy here: Request Military Service Records | National Archives . Erin also suggested they can check their local county gov’t offices if they were drafted. 2. Encourage them to call the National Cemetery Administration (local cemetery offices or the national scheduling office) to confirm Veteran’s eligibility for free burial in a national cemetery. See attached brochures for #s 3. Encourage them to contact a benefits rep that can verify if they are eligible for any Veteran’s Benefits Administration Benefits (i.e. Burial Allowance, medallions, headstone, etc). See attached handout “assistance with benefits” for a list of organizations that can help them verify VBA benefit eligibility. Additional National Cemetery Administration Resources can be found on their website: NCA