A nonprofit organization can identify an unmet need and come up with world-class solutions, but without adequate funding, those ideas and programs may never come to fruition.
Given Modern Military’s small team and limited resources, the organization was reliant on individual and corporate giving, and previously didn’t pursue federal grants. When Rachel Branaman joined Modern Military as executive director, she brought significant fundraising and nonprofit management prowess. Determined to grow the organization’s footprint and expand mental health resources for the LGBTQ+ community, she took a long shot. Branaman completed the arduous application for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) grant for a public health effort to end the epidemic of veteran suicide.
“The grant aligned with the organization’s mission since we’d already started doing suicide prevention work with an LGBTQ+ veteran coalition,” remembers Cathy Marcello, Modern Military’s deputy director. “When we learned about the grant, we thought it would be a great opportunity to broaden and expand the efforts we were already already engaging in.”
Modern Military already had two successful support groups; one is Strong Communities, a virtual monthly meeting for adult LGBTQ+ service members, veterans, and their partners. The other, PFLAG Connects: Military Community, is run in partnership with PFLAG and focuses on military-affiliated adults who are parents, caregivers, or allies of LGBTQ+ individuals. This new VA grant would provide resources to build veteran-specific programming.
Applications were due before the presidential election, but the team knew it was needed regardless of outcome. In October 2024, the Modern Military team was thrilled to be awarded a VA Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant — the organization’s first federal grant and largest one-time funding infusion.
“It enabled us to rapidly increase the size of our team and create new programs and offerings for which we previously didn’t have resources,” Branaman says. Then it was time to build out the new Resilient Heroes program and start helping the community in a new way.
Building a Program Needed More Than Ever
The VA grant allowed Modern Military to bring on new full-time staff members to assist with everything from grant management to mental health case management to community outreach.
Onboarding and building a new team, then creating and standing up a new program from scratch, was far from easy. But once the Resilient Heroes program formally launched in January 2025, its purpose became even more profound as dizzying new political and societal changes put new stressors on the LGBTQ+ and veteran communities.
Many veterans are impacted by mass layoffs and reductions in care offerings and access. Additionally, “depending on what happens with various policies, there will likely be many new ‘unwilling veterans,’ or individuals who are involuntarily separated,” Branaman says.
The Resilient Heroes program is designed to meet LGBTQ+ veterans and their families where they are in their mental health journey to reduce suicide risk and improve overall well-being. “In certain circumstances, the grant also supports active duty service members, and through our community outreach and education activities, we are able to engage allies and the wider public,” adds Branaman.
Modern Military’s Resilient Heroes program features three primary components:
Peer Support
Through the Resilient Heroes program’s Resiliency Circles, participants can join virtual peer support groups with other veterans with shared lived experience. These free, monthly sessions are professionally supervised and peer-facilitated, helping participants increase their social network, build resilience, and improve self-esteem and confidence. Facilitators equip participants with practical and emotional support, offering advice on managing civilian life, coping with stress, and overcoming obstacles as a veteran.
“Studies show that community connections and social support from other veterans like we those in our Resiliency Circles are a protective factor against suicide, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community,” Marcello says.
Education
This aspect allows Modern Military to work with LGBTQ+ veterans and service members, along with their families and the public, to better understand the issues and barriers their community faces.
“These communities are at a higher risk for mental health issues — not because they are prone to it, but because of the intersectional issues around discrimination and minority-based stress,” Branaman says. “When the community has better cultural awareness of their heightened risk of mental health struggles and suicidality, they can more easily support themselves and their loved ones.”
The Resilient Heroes program tackles this educational component in several ways:
- Edu-tainment events: The grant allows Modern Military to provide community education on suicide prevention, helping family members, friends, and allies to better identify and support an LGBTQ+ service members, veteran, or relative heading toward crisis. By offering nontraditional community outreach events that align with the interest and needs of the LGBTQ+ community, Modern Military can drive awareness of suicide prevention and available resources. Modern Military hosted an event in March and will host another in September in the National Capital Region featuring performances by active duty or veteran performers, a resource table, guest speakers, and more.
- Public resources: Modern Military wants the wider LGBTQ+ community and its allies to have access to education and resources as well, so they are better able to support veterans, service members, and their families in need. This goal is met through this magazine, social media and email campaigns, lunch and learns, tabling at events, and more.
Direct service
The other key part of the Resilient Heroes program is hands-on, nonclinical, one-on-one case management. Modern Military’s Mental Health Specialist evaluates your immediate and long-term needs. As someone with lived experience, this professional can deeply empathize and hear needs that others haven’t yet been able to identify themselves.
She is there to listen, support, suggest community-based and VA resources, guide participants through goal-setting and creating a safety plan, and connect them with mental health care. Modern Military’s Mental Health Specialist also helps participants resolve issues, from employment to finances to housing with warm handoffs to community resources.
While veterans can contact a VA on their own to make an appointment, it isn’t always so simple. Often there aren’t enough providers or appointments available for behavioral healthcare. Plus, some LGBTQ+ veterans worry if they will feel safe from discrimination, and even if they do feel safe accessing VA care, navigating its bureaucratic system can present roadblocks.
If after speaking to you, the Mental Health Specialist determines a VA referral is ideal, she will provide you with a referral and follow up to ensure you receive the care you need. If you haven’t, she will continue to work with you to address any barriers, adding a personal touch to an otherwise intimidating process.
If it turns out that VA mental health care isn’t the right space for you due to concerns of LGBTQ+ cultural competency, Modern Military will work with you to find an alternative provider.
Who’s Eligible for Resilient Heroes?
To participate in the Resilient Heroes program, VA requires participants to meet the following criteria:
- Be an active-duty service member or a military veteran with a discharge status other than dishonorable.
- Experience challenges or circumstances associated with increased suicide risk or distress
- Have an identified concern that may contribute to suicidal thoughts or distress
- Be a family member of a veteran currently receiving SSG Fox services through VA
If you think you might be eligible, complete the intake form on our website. Even if you're not eligible, though, please submit the form anyway. We will connect you to the resources you need.
Not eligible? Make sure to explore Modern Military’s robust list of mental health and wellness resources. Also consider signing up to attend our Strong Communities meetings, held virtually on the third Monday of every month at 8pm ET and open to LGBTQ+ service members, veterans, and their adult partners.
And please remember: you are never alone.
