HOPE Community Services

Veterans Program

In 2020, Mental Health America’s State of Mental Health in America ranked Oklahoma 41 out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., meaning Oklahoma has a high prevalence of mental illness in the population and low access to care. According to the VA’s National Veteran Suicide Prevention 2020 Annual Report, the veteran suicide rate in Oklahoma was higher per capita than both the national veteran suicide rate, and the total Oklahoma suicide rate. HOPE Community Services provides trauma- and recovery-focused mental health and substance abuse services to children, families, and adults in central Oklahoma. This NFL-BWF Healthy Lifestyles and Creating Community (HLCC) grant will provide a combination of emergency rental assistance, mental health services, and peer recovery support to at least 100 veterans/military households living in central Oklahoma. This combination of services is important, because families struggling with homelessness cannot devote appropriate time to mental health services. These services will ensure that veterans and their families remain stably housed, experience a reduction in mental health symptoms, and persist in treatment.