Need help? Call 988 then press 1 for veterans. Or text the Veterans Crisis Line at 838255. Get Crisis Help
Resource Guide
How to find the right crisis, mental health, peer and family support for veterans, and where to search for it.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Veterans and current military can call 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, or text 838255.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
Finding the right support can make an important difference for veterans and the people who care about them.
Across the United States, organizations provide suicide prevention resources, crisis intervention, peer support, mental health services, community connections, and assistance for families affected by suicide.
Red Star Foundation maintains a national Suicide Prevention & Support Resource Directory to help current military, veterans, first responders, and surviving families discover organizations and programs offering support.
Explore national organizations, browse available resources, and find services that match your needs.
A directory listing does not guarantee availability, eligibility, treatment outcomes or clinical accreditation. Confirm details directly with each organization.
Veteran suicide prevention organizations do different things. Some answer in a crisis, some provide treatment, and others offer connection, practical help or support after a loss. The right choice depends on what the person needs right now and over time, and many people use more than one kind of support.
Crisis services respond when someone is in danger now or is worried about another person. Depending on the service, trained responders may listen, help assess immediate safety, work through a safety plan, or connect the caller with emergency or follow-up care. The Veterans Crisis Line and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline answer by phone, text and chat around the clock.
Browse Crisis & Urgent Help
These organizations offer counseling, therapy, mental health treatment and referrals. Some are clinical providers, such as VA mental health services, Vet Centers and community clinics, where licensed professionals assess and treat. Others are support organizations that share information or help people reach care but do not provide treatment themselves. Each listing in the directory notes which kind of support it offers.
Browse Mental Health & Suicide Prevention or Counseling & Therapy
Peer support connects veterans with people who share military experience, by phone, chat, in groups or in person. Ongoing connection can ease isolation and make it easier to ask for help. Peer support is not clinical treatment and is not a crisis service; it works alongside professional care rather than replacing it.
Browse Peer & Community Support or learn about the Red Star Peer-to-Peer Network
Leaving military service can change relationships, work, identity, daily routines and a person’s sense of community all at once. Transition and community organizations help with employment, housing, benefits navigation and finding local connection, which can make practical pressures easier to manage.
Browse Navigation & Family Support, Employment & Career Services, Housing & Homelessness or VA Benefits & Claims
Spouses, children, parents, siblings and friends grieving a suicide death can find grief support, survivor peer connections, support groups, bereavement counseling and postvention services, along with help navigating survivor benefits. Some programs are for families of those who served; others are open to anyone who has lost someone to suicide.
Browse Grief & Surviving Families or visit Red Star Families
Red Star Foundation’s mission includes first responders as well as current military and veterans, so some directory resources serve firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS professionals and other first responders. Several of these are open to veterans who also work in public safety.
These nationwide organizations are drawn from approved listings in Red Star Foundation’s directory whose stated population includes veterans. They are grouped by the kind of help they offer: crisis response, suicide loss and family support, peer support and navigation, and clinical mental health care. Order within each group reflects how directly a listing fits that kind of help and how complete its profile is; it is not a ranking or an endorsement.
Crisis & Urgent Help
Immediate suicide or mental health crisis; emergency access.
Crisis & Urgent Help
No VA enrollment required; responds to veteran-related crisis.
Crisis & Urgent Help
Text-based support; not military-only.
Grief & Surviving Families
No-cost outreach, counseling and referrals; suicide death explicitly included.
View VA Vet Center Suicide-Loss Bereavement Counseling in the directory
Grief & Surviving Families
Combat-veteran peers connect callers to local Vet Center services.
Grief & Surviving Families
24/7 TAPS survivor helpline; peer connections and loss support.
View TAPS National Military Survivor Helpline in the directory
Peer & Community Support
Ongoing confidential peer support before or during difficulties.
Peer & Community Support
24/7 veteran-focused network support; housing, finance, benefit navigation.
Peer & Community Support
Local prevention, referrals and suicide-loss support connections.
Mental Health & Counseling
Free, confidential counseling; specific military service/trauma eligibility.
Mental Health & Counseling
PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, therapy, medications; some options without VA enrollment.
Mental Health & Counseling
Evidence-based therapy; active duty requires TRICARE referral.
View Cohen Veterans Network / Cohen Clinics in the directory
The full directory includes additional organizations, state and local programs, and more service categories, including financial assistance, legal help, substance use recovery, faith-based support and programs for children. Filter by location, population served, organization type and cost.
These questions can help you narrow the options, whether you are looking for yourself or for someone you care about.
Start with how urgent things are. If someone may act on suicidal thoughts soon, use a crisis service now. For ongoing struggles, professional mental health care offers assessment and treatment. Peer support helps with connection and understanding. Practical help with work, housing, money or benefits can ease daily pressures, and grief support is there for those who have lost someone.
Eligibility differs. Some programs serve only veterans or only current military; others include family members, first responders or anyone at all. Some require a particular era of service, discharge status or VA enrollment. Each card and profile lists the populations the organization says it serves; confirm eligibility with the provider.
Many services are nationwide by phone, text or online, so they are available wherever you are. Others work in person in specific states, counties or cities. Directory listings show each organization’s stated service area, and location searches include both local and nationwide options.
Crisis lines are free. Many peer, navigation and survivor programs are free as well, while some counseling and treatment programs have costs, accept insurance, or depend on VA or TRICARE eligibility. Ask about cost before starting a service.
Licensed clinical services are delivered by professionals such as psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists. Peer, community, educational and referral programs offer connection, information and help finding care, but not treatment. Featured cards on this page show the type of support each listing offers: clinical care, peer support or non-clinical support.
Directory listings are reviewed against Red Star Foundation’s published inclusion criteria. A Red Star Verified Resource is an organization that completed the applicable Red Star directory review and was granted verified status. Verification does not guarantee services, clinical accreditation or positive outcomes. Learn about the Verified Resource program.
Search Red Star Foundation’s national directory by organization or service, state, ZIP code, type of help and population served.
Phone, text and online services available anywhere in the United States appear in every location search. You can also browse every listing in the directory or start with crisis and urgent help.
Red Star Foundation works to prevent suicide among current military, veterans and first responders while providing hope, recognition and connection to Red Star Families. The Foundation does not provide crisis intervention or clinical treatment; it connects people with organizations that do, and builds community and recognition around those affected. Learn more on our veteran suicide research hub and veteran suicide prevention guide.
A free directory that helps current military, veterans, first responders and surviving families find support organizations by category, location and population served.
Red Star Foundation is building a Peer-to-Peer Network to strengthen community connection and peer engagement among military and veteran communities and the families of those lost.
Recognition, including the Red Star Service Banner and Service Pin, and connections to support for families who have lost a loved one who served to suicide.
Video stories shared, with their consent, by families who lost someone to suicide, to raise awareness, reduce stigma and encourage connection.
Several kinds of organizations work on veteran suicide prevention. National crisis services such as the Veterans Crisis Line (call 988 and press 1, or text 838255) answer around the clock. VA programs, Vet Centers and community clinics provide counseling and mental health care. Peer support organizations connect veterans with other veterans, and survivor organizations support families after a suicide loss. Red Star Foundation's national directory lists these organizations by category, location and population served.
The Veterans Crisis Line and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline are free and confidential, and veterans do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use the Veterans Crisis Line. Many peer support, navigation and survivor programs in the directory are also offered at no cost. Costs and eligibility vary by program, so confirm them directly with the provider before you rely on a service.
Use the search on this page or the national directory to choose your state or enter a ZIP code. Location results include programs whose stated service area covers your state, along with nationwide phone, text and online services you can use from anywhere. Coverage is not the same in every area, and a listing does not guarantee that a program has openings.
A crisis line is for right now: trained responders answer calls, texts or chats from someone in distress or worried about another person, and can help with immediate safety. A peer support organization offers ongoing connection with people who share military or veteran experience. Peer support can reduce isolation and help someone find care, but it is not crisis response and does not replace treatment from a licensed clinician.
Yes, in many cases. The Veterans Crisis Line accepts calls from family members and friends who are worried about a veteran, and several programs in the directory coach families on how to talk with a loved one and connect them to care. Some services are only for the veteran, so check each listing's population served and confirm eligibility with the provider.
Families can find grief support, survivor peer connections, bereavement counseling and help with benefits. The directory's Grief & Surviving Families category lists organizations offering these services, including survivor helplines and VA bereavement counseling for eligible family members. Red Star Foundation also offers recognition and connection for Red Star Families who have lost a loved one who served to suicide.
Red Star Foundation reviews submitted organization information, listing claims and proposed updates before publication. Reviewers check the organization's suicide prevention or postvention relevance and confirm its identity and available services against the directory's published inclusion criteria. Eligible organizations may complete a separate verification review and be granted Red Star Verified Resource status. Listing information may be updated or reviewed periodically. Approval and verification reflect the directory review only; they do not guarantee services, eligibility, clinical accreditation or outcomes.
Organizations that support current military, veterans, first responders or surviving families can apply through the directory registration page. Each application is reviewed against the inclusion criteria. Acceptance or disapproval is at the sole discretion of Red Star Foundation, and registration does not guarantee approval or Verified Resource status.
More crisis information: Veterans Crisis Line · 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline · Red Star suicide hotline page
Red Star Foundation invites organizations providing appropriate support to current military, veterans, first responders, and surviving families to apply for inclusion in its national Suicide Prevention & Support Resource Directory.
Organizations can submit their information for review through the existing registration process. Registration does not guarantee approval or Verified Resource status. Acceptance or disapproval is at the sole discretion of Red Star Foundation.
Page last reviewed November 12, 2026.
