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Veteran Sponsorship Initiative




A Cross-Sector Coalition

The transition from active military service to civilian life is a significant life event for U.S. service members who often find this reintegration process to be challenging and disruptive. Upon discharge from the Department of Defense, Veterans lose the unique social support system, identity, and mission associated with military service.

For many Veterans, the first 12 months after leaving the military can be especially disorienting and stressful as each Veteran must navigate critical issues on their own such as finding employment, education, housing, health care, and purpose. For some young Veterans, the stresses of reintegrating to civilian life when combined with preexisting mental and physical health concerns, can make this time particularly dangerous. Notably, this period has been referred to as the “deadly gap” because suicide rates in Veterans ages 18- 34 years old are significantly higher than those of their civilian peers. For some, it is a vulnerable period that can lead to unemployment, homelessness, substance use, legal problems, social isolation, and interpersonal issues that have negative long-term consequences. 

The Veteran Sponsorship Initiative (VSI) is a VA evidence-based approach designed to reduce these stressors by proactively connecting service members with community-based peer support, VA healthcare, and resources to address social determinants of health before, during, and immediately after the service member transitions out of the military.

VSI operationalizes VA’s strategic priorities to enact a proactive, public health approach for suicide prevention and to reduce negative transition outcomes by developing community-based prevention strategies that mitigate risk for all transitioning Veterans.

To implement VSI, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) engages with a nation-wide coalition of organizations across the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense, academic affiliates, state or municipal programs, and community partners that support service members, Veterans, and their families in successfully integrating into civilian communities. This coalition achieves this mission by engaging service members on military bases prior to discharge and offering supportive services to navigate the ‘deadly gap.’ 

Operational Partners

A key component of VSI is support from Onward Ops, a community-based transition program for military service members powered by the ETS Sponsorship Program (ETS-SP), a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. The Veteran Sponsorship Initiative enables VA, Onward Ops, and the partner coalition to help Service Members create tailored transition plans and make aware of each Veteran’s needs months in advance to facilitate proactive support for housing, employment, educational opportunities, VA primary care and mental health services.

What VSI Does
VSI contributes to this community-based approach to enable successful transitions out of military service in three critical ways:
  1. Training and certifying community-based peer sponsors who help service members identify and engage local resources for successful reintegration. State and local organizations manage networks of these sponsors across the United States with support from Onward Ops and its transition platform.
  2. Facilitating enrollment to VA health care services for Veterans identified as at-risk for suicide by a population-based screening process occurring prior to discharge from the military. Through VSI, service members and Veterans receive proactive, individual assistance and, for those eligible, convenient VA healthcare services through a National Virtual Care Clinic.
  3. Conducting rigorous evaluation of this evidence-based community-based public health approach to reduce suicide in transitioning Veterans in VA compliance with the Congressional Foundations for Evidence-based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act, US Public Law 115-435).
Who We Are

VSI is led and co-directed by the Transitioning Service Member/Veteran Suicide Prevention Center (TASC) which is housed within the VA VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans and the VA VISN 2 Mental Illness, Research and Education Center (MIRECC). These VA centers are leaders in developing and evaluating innovative treatments; and training clinicians and community providers to address healthcare needs in active duty service members and Veterans. VSI is also one of the VHA National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships healthcare advancement initiatives. 




VISN 17 Center of Excellence		 MIRECC 2
Veteran Sponsor Partnership Network ETS Sponsorship

Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act (2019)

The VSI supports Section 101 of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act which provides for the provision of care for Veterans during their first-year after military service. This population is vulnerable to suicide, as Veterans experience a threefold increase in rates of suicide during the first year after military service compared to other Veterans. The youngest Veterans are at the highest risk of suicide as their rate of suicide has doubled over the last 13 years. Research suggests that the VSI may help reduce psychological pain and increase social connectedness in Veterans, thus decreasing the risk of suicide.

Media Coverage 
Key Published Research



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