Stop Soldier Suicide (SSS) has been selected as a winner of the 2021 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Imagine Grant, a public grant opportunity open to registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations in the United States that are using technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
The grant will support Stop Soldier Suicide’s pursuit of its goal to reduce the military suicide rate by 40 percent no later than 2030.
Now in its fourth year, the AWS Imagine Grant program provides vital resources to nonprofit organizations looking to deploy cloud technology as a central tool to achieve their mission goals. As part of the program, AWS seeks proposals for exceptional ideas on how to leverage technology in innovative ways to accelerate impact in local and global communities.
Stop Soldier Suicide, in conjunction with a council of many of the nation’s leading suicidologists, has developed a cutting-edge program service model used to provide consistent, confidential, and trauma-informed care to U.S. veterans and service members at highest risk for suicide.
Stop Soldier Suicide’s collaboration with AWS will provide critical new capabilities in identifying high-risk clients without depending on a suicide gesture or self disclosure. SSS will integrate Amazon Connect (an easy-to-use, scalable, cloud contact center) into its case management infrastructure, giving its Wellness Coordinators seamless access to case history data while working with their clients.
Stop Soldier Suicide will also leverage Amazon Chime (a communications service that lets users meet, chat, and place business calls) and Amazon Kinesis (a service for real-time data collection, processing, and analysis) to enhance its video-based care capabilities, as well as Amazon Connect to streamline multi-channel communication with its clients.
Stop Soldier Suicide was named a winner in the Momentum to Modernize category, which recognizes foundational technology projects. SSS was awarded $30,000 in unrestricted funding as well as $5,000 in AWS promotional credits and project implementation support.
Proposals were judged on several factors, including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones.
“On behalf of our entire team, I want to extend tremendous thanks to Amazon Web Services and the Imagine Grant committee for investing in the lives of at-risk American veterans and service members,” Stop Soldier Suicide CEO Chris Ford said. “This collaboration will improve identification of suicide risk, expand services targeted to that risk, support risk reassessment, and improve identification in downward trends in client suicidality. AWS is playing a tangible role in life-saving work with one of the most underserved communities in the mental health arena.”
Since the launch of the Imagine Grant program in 2018, AWS has awarded more than $4.5 million in unrestricted funds, AWS Promotional Credits, and AWS training support to 46 nonprofit organizations in support of their technology-driven goals. Previous winners are currently using AWS services to tackle critical challenges such as finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes by leveraging the power of data, addressing conservation issues at scale with machine learning, helping the military community access resources faster and more reliably, and more.
“AWS was incredibly inspired by the innovative thinking we saw in the applications received this year. All of the nonprofits share a commitment to solving some of our world’s biggest challenges,” said Dave Levy, Vice President of Nonprofits, Healthcare and U.S. Government at AWS. “We look forward to collaborating with our winners to help them build and reinvent new and existing cloud-based solutions that will make a meaningful impact on communities worldwide.”
More than 35,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide use AWS to increase their impact and advance mission goals. Through multiple programs tailored specifically to the nonprofit community, AWS can enable nonprofits of all sizes to overcome barriers to technology adoption, while enhancing scale, performance, and the capabilities of mission operations.
For more information on the AWS Imagine Grant, visit aws.amazon.com/imagine-grant.
About Stop Soldier Suicide
Founded in 2010 by three U.S. Army veterans, Stop Soldier Suicide has evolved into the only national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization focused solely on reducing the military suicide rate. Its goal is a 40% reduction in that rate no later than 2030.
Through its one-of-a-kind suicide intervention model, innovative use of data insights and technology-first approach, SSS provides consistent, confidential, free care for U.S. veterans and service members at highest risk for suicide. Its Wellness Coordinators are elite behavioral health professionals, each with an advanced degree in at least one area of mental health, including licensed mental health practitioners.
Stop Soldier Suicide is veteran-led, is not VA or DoD affiliated, and has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuidestarTM.
For more information, visit StopSoldierSuicide.org.
November 30, 2021