Crisis Intercept Mapping for Service Members, Veterans and Their Families (SMVF) Suicide Prevention
Effective crisis care for Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach. More than half of military veterans do not receive health care through the VA system and instead likely seek care in community settings.1 Because suicide risk increases during the time period surrounding an episode of acute care, continuing contact through entire episodes of care is needed. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and its SMVF Technical Assistance (TA) Center at Policy Research Associates, Inc. designed and developed the Crisis Intercept Mapping (CIM) process for SMVF Suicide Prevention to help communities strengthen the delivery of evidence-based suicide prevention policies and practices during this time of increased risk. From 2018 through August 2025, the SMVF TA Center has engaged 110 different communities across 53 U.S. states and territories in CIM workshops. Of those, 17 participated in a second follow-up phase of CIM TA.
SAMHSA Crisis Intercept Mapping Communities 2018-2025
This map illustrates the 110 communities across the country that have participated in SAMHSA-funded Crisis Intercept Mapping workshops between 2018 and 2025. Communities are color coded to indicate when their CIM workshop took place.
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
Charlotte, NC Helena, MT Houston, TX Kalamazoo, MI Phoenix, AZ Richmond, VA Santa Fe, NM | Albuquerque, NM Clarksville, TN Hampton, VA Kansas City, MO Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA Manchester, NH Mecklenburg Co., NC Reno, NV | Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Billings, MT Hillsborough Co., FL Jacksonville, NC Suffolk, NY Oklahoma City, OK Suffolk Co., NY Topeka, KS Tulsa, OK | El Paso, TX Queens, NY Pickens Co., SC Peoria, IL Itasca Co., MN Suffolk, VA Elko, NV Sauk Co., WI Baker Co., FL Manor, TX |
| 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
Alleghany Co., PA Anne Arundel Co., MD Arlington, VA Bernalillo Co., NM Bexar Co., TX Bronx, NY Brooklyn, NY Charlotte, NC Clark Co., NV Clay Co., FL Clinton Co., NY | Dane Co., WI Denton Co., TX Dutchess Co., NY Esca Rosa, FL Gardner, MA Garland Co., AR Hamilton Co., IN Harford Co., MD Honolulu, HI Illinois Joining Forces Madison Co., TN | Operation Stand Down (TN) Pickens Co., SC Pine Ridge Reservation, SD Polk Co., IA Riley Co., KS Santa Clara Co., CA St. Croix, VI Walla Walla Co., WA Wayne Co., MI |
| 2023 | |
|---|---|
*Arlington Co., VA *Bexar, TX *Bronx, NY *Clay Co., FL Cook Co., IL Cook Inlet Region, AK *Denton Co., TX Douglas Co., OR *Dutchess Co., NY Erie Co., OH *Escambia and Santa Rosa Co., FL *Gardner, MA *Hamilton Co., IL Johnson Co., IN | Lafourche Parish, LA Liberty Co., GA Manhattan, NY Manitowoc Co., WI *Mecklenburg Co., NC Mobile and Baldwin Co., AL Monroe Co., WI Montgomery, AL *Oneida and Herkimer Co., NY *Philadelphia, PA San Diego, CA South Portland, ME Tom Green Co., TX McLennan Co., TX |
| 2024 | |
|---|---|
Allen County, KS Buffalo County, NE Canyon County, ID Saipan, CNMI *El Paso, TX *Erie County, OH Fort Peck Assiniboine, MT Huntington, WV Lansing, MI Laramie County, WY | Larimer, County, CO New London County, CT Providence, RI Richmond, VA *San Diego, CA South Burlington, VT *South Portland, ME St John's County, FL St Joseph's County, IN Thomas County, GA |
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
Allen County, IN Butler County, OH Chippewa County, MN Cochise County, AZ Harrison County, MS | *Fort Peck Assiniboine, MT McKenzie and Williams Counties, ND Pikesville, KY San Juan, Puerto Rico Sheridan, WY |
*These communities were part of an earlier CIM cohort and participated in a second follow-up phase of TA.
Crisis Mapping TA Objectives
- Assess and improve community crisis care systems and services
- Strengthen partnerships among military and civilian community stakeholders
- Develop a tailored crisis intercept map for your community hand-in-hand with an action plan to improve crisis care services
- Develop interagency protocols for crisis care coordination
- Implement best practices in SMVF suicide prevention
With the guidance of an expert facilitator and mapping tools, interagency teams create a visual map of their local crisis systems on which they identify resources, gaps, and opportunities for implementing best practices at each intercept point. They receive TA to apply best practices in crisis care including universal screening, safety planning, lethal means safety, and promoting connectedness including remaining in contact with veterans at risk throughout a crisis. Once participants have developed a map and learned about key best practices, participants engage in developing an implementation plan to improve crisis services for SMVF in their local community.
The Crisis Intercept Map for SMVF Suicide Prevention
The SMVF Crisis Intercept Map for Suicide Prevention is a tool that helps community stakeholders visualize how at-risk SMVF flow through the crisis care system. As identified on the map, within a community crisis system, there are four key “intercept points” that provide opportunities for diverting at-risk SMVF to appropriate and effective prevention and support services:
- First Contact
- Acute Care
- Care Transitions
- Ongoing Treatment and Recovery Support
Veteran Sequential Intercept Model (V-SIM)
The National Institute of Corrections worked collaboratively with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to develop toolkits that correspond with V-SIM which relates to supporting justice involved Veterans. You can find the toolkits on the website under VJO Toolkit Downloads.
1U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2024). 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report (PDF | 9.9 MB). Retrieved July 2025.