Georgia veterans chief details benefits work, suicide‑prevention efforts and new referral platform

Commissioner Trish Ross of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service gave a broad update to a joint House‑Senate veterans committee, saying the department’s service officers and appeals team secured roughly $5,200,000,000 for veterans and survivors last year and describing steps the agency is taking on suicide prevention, outreach and care coordination.

Ross said the department’s 55 field offices and co‑located staff in 22 VA facilities and at several military installations are intended to make benefits assistance easier to access. “We brought in $5,200,000,000 into Georgians pockets, into veterans or their survivors pocket just this last year,” Ross said, noting those awards come at no cost to recipients.

Why it matters: Ross emphasized that many veterans who need help are not enrolled in VA programs, and that statewide supports must reach those veterans early in transition from service. “If they don't land well in that first year, they're more likely to have suicidal ideations, domestic violence, substance abuse, become homeless, become justice involved,” she said.

Suicide‑prevention work and findings
Ross described a suicide mortality review committee that conducted a landscape analysis with Kennesaw State’s AIMS Center and public‑health partners. She said Georgia’s veteran suicide rate remains high — “we're still double the national average” — and that firearms accounted for the majority of deaths in the datasets cited. Ross gave demographic details from recent cases, including an average age in the mid‑50s and a predominance of male decedents in the historical data the committee reviewed.

The department has run a four‑year suicide‑prevention grant (the “Fox Grant”), and Ross said the team has shifted from research into more direct assistance and referrals. She listed trainings the department offers — mental‑health first aid and related programs — and said the department runs outreach events and a veterans wellness app that provides 24/7 clinical access to participating veterans at no cost.

Care coordination and referral platform
Ross highlighted a 'closed‑loop' referral and case management platform (a national platform the department uses) that she said has produced over 18,000 touchpoints, fully outreached about 5,000 veterans, and accelerated referrals: “1.6 days for that referral to be [made] and then 6.4 days for those partner organizations to actually meet those veterans' needs,” she said. The platform is used to link veterans to housing, financial help, food assistance and other services when their clinical screenings show a need.

Funding and grants
Ross said the department’s funding this year is roughly half federal and half state, and described several pass‑through grants the department administers (the agency manages reporting but does not always retain the funds). She cited a $1,000,000 pass‑through to Emory University for PTSD research and described other state‑administered grants supporting clinics and telehealth services.

Next steps
Committee members pressed for county‑level data and hotspot analysis; Ross said the department’s insights dashboard can drill down to identify high‑need counties and demographic risk factors and offered to share those analytics with legislators. She also said the department can communicate broadly to roughly 300,000 veterans who have opted in to receive departmental messages.

Ending
Ross encouraged members to direct constituents to the department’s case‑management tools and said the agency will continue outreach and training work. The committee moved to member questions after the presentation.