MHA Vet-2-vet

Monday   - 8am to 5pm

Tuesday   - 8am to 5pm

Thursday - 8am to 5pm

Although the primary organization is MHA of Dutchess County, they have broaden their outreach to now provide these same services in Orange County NY

• Provide suicide awareness, outreach and guidance to reduce the number of veteran suicides
• Coordinate housing stability, employment, reducing veteran isolation, transportation, and emergency financial needs
• Assistance with navigating the VA system for medical, physical, emotional and financial issues

Vet2Vet is funded by the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans’ Peer Services Project. Services include support groups, social activities, assistance in finding housing and/or employment for homeless veterans, advocacy for benefits, and much more:

• Emotional support
• Educational information
• Referrals to useful services
• Information around Support Groups, and Social Events
• Advocacy
• Short-term care management

MHA’S Housing, Employment, Reintegration and Outreach Program (HERO) is a way for Dutchess County veterans and their families that are either homeless or facing homelessness to have an advocate and a resource in the county they live in. There are funds available for emergency housing, which can be used if necessary to keep our veteran families safe and sleeping with a roof over their heads. To date, HERO. has taken many homeless veterans away from street homelessness to stable housing status and has kept others from becoming homeless. Some of these had families as well. We have helped many to find employment and even assisted with obtaining reliable transportation to help them get back and forth from work and medical appointments. We have also helped them to get their benefit claims back on track and have advised them on how to access their education benefits as well. This initiative is funded by Dutchess County.

The Veterans Employment Training & Transitions Assistance Program (VET-TAP) assists Dutchess County Veterans in all aspects of employment, including resume building, job hunting, job applications, interview preparation, etc. The program also offers local Veterans to gain licenses and certifications in various fields, to broaden their employment marketability. Additionally, VET-TAP can assist in building resumes and cover letters, to help in preparation for job applications. The goal of VET-TAP is to curb veteran homelessness through meaningful employment. VET-TAP, a federally funded program, works hand-in-hand with Vet2Vet’s H.E.R.O. Program for housing assistance.

The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) enables VA to provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of Veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and connection to VA and community resources. In alignment with VA’s National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide (2018), this grant program assists in further implementing a public health approach that blends community-based prevention with evidence-based clinical strategies through community efforts. The grant program is part of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, signed into law on October 17, 2020. Click the Hannon Act Fact Sheet to learn more.

Congress has authorized $174 million to be appropriated to carry out the SSG Fox SPGP, a three-year community-based grant program that provides resources to community organizations serving certain Veterans and their families across the country. Organizations can apply for grants worth up to $750,000 and may apply to renew awards from year to year throughout the length of the program. Grants will be awarded to organizations that provide or coordinate suicide prevention services for eligible individuals at risk of suicide and their families that qualify, including:

• Outreach to identify those at risk of suicide
• Baseline mental health screening for risk (required of all grantees for participants ages 18+)
• Education on suicide risk and prevention to families and communities
• Provision of clinical services for emergency treatment
• Case management services
• Peer support services
• VA benefits assistance for eligible individuals and their families
• Assistance with obtaining and coordinating other benefits provided by the federal government, a state or local government, or an eligible entity
• Assistance with emergent needs relating to health care services, daily living services, personal financial planning and counseling, transportation services, temporary income support services, fiduciary and representative payee services, legal services to assist the eligible individual with issues that may contribute to the risk of suicide, and child care
• Nontraditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices, as determined appropriate by VA
• Other services necessary for improving the mental health status and well-being and reducing the suicide risk of eligible individuals and their families as VA determines appropriate 

 Veterans Programs - MHA Dutchess