Nineline Veteran Services

10/15/2026

NineLine’s own Julie Laney was out in the community today tabling at the Health Care Providers Council of Pierce County’s annual Making the Link Free Resource Fair.

The event brought together case managers, discharge planners, social service providers, and partners focused on supporting older adults and individuals with disabilities. Julie spent the day connecting with local professionals, sharing the resources NineLine offers veterans and their families, and strengthening the referral networks that help veterans in Pierce County get the support they need especially those who are aging or living with service-connected disabilities.

We’re grateful to HCPC and Pierce County Human Services for hosting a strong space for collaboration, and proud of Julie for representing NineLine with the same “Service Above Self” approach she brings to case management and outreach every day.
These connections matter. When the people serving older adults and individuals with disabilities know how to link veterans to peer support, housing, benefits navigation, and community resources, fewer veterans fall through the cracks. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the table today.

10/06/2026

Team NineLine was on the ground this weekend with Skagit County Vets Connect, Skagit County Veterans Stand Down at the county Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon. Our member Clara was rocking the day away! Along with team NineLine and our amazing friend and partner/ standown director Chris Diaz!

Stand Downs are simple and on purpose. Veterans and families walk in and find housing help, benefits, health and wellness, education, gear, and people who will sit down and work the problem with them. No maze. No runaround.

Grateful to Skagit County Vets Connect, Chris Diaz leading the charge!, Skagit County Veteran Services, and every partner who showed up so veterans in Skagit did not have to figure it out alone.If you stopped by our table, thank you. If you still need a hand, we are here.

Service 2 Others

10/02/2026

Ending Su***de Prevention Awareness Month ( ) on a high note.

Today, Nineline Veteran Services was on the ground at Joint Base Lewis-McChord with the 7th Infantry Division for Lethal Means Safety Training led by our own Brett Bass and Jeffery C. Young, M.D.

Joined by partners from across JBLM, Camp Murray, and the surrounding community, the session cut through the noise and got practical: how military culture, community coordination, and real care come together when safety is the priority.

That included a clear, no-nonsense look at safe fi***rm handling and safety in the home the kind of training that protects service members, veterans, and the people who love them.

Lethal means safety is not about taking something away. It is about putting time and distance between a crisis and a permanent decision. That work does not end when the month does. Grateful to the 7th Infantry Division and every partner who showed up ready to lead. Service to others.

***dePreventionAwarenessMonth

09/30/2026

September 29, 2026

NineLine Veteran Services Announces Continued SSG Fox SPGP Grant Award

FIFE / Tacoma, Wash. — Nineline Veteran Services is proud to announce continued funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Su***de Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP).

The Fiscal Year 2027 award of $750,000 will support community-based, primarily non-clinical su***de prevention services for eligible Veterans, service members, and their families in Clallam, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties.

SSG Fox SPGP extends su***de prevention beyond clinic walls outreach, screening, peer support, connection to VA care and benefits, and help with the social and practical stressors that raise risk. NineLine has been a Fox grantee since the program’s early years. This renewal allows that work to continue without interruption.

“This grant is not about us. It is about Veterans who are not yet connected to care, families who need a trusted peer, and communities that refuse to lose another brother or sister,” said Shawn Durnen, President and CEO of NineLine Veteran Services and a U.S. Army combat Veteran. “We are grateful for the VA’s confidence and for the partners who walk this mission with us every day.”

Eligible individuals can contact Nin in eLine at 253-922-7225 or [email protected].

If you are a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, call or text the Veterans Crisis Line at 988, then press 1, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.org.

https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-awards-112-million-in-su***de-prevention-grants/

09/30/2026

Join our partners at AMVETS for this free Veterans Day dental event.

🇺🇸 FREE DENTAL CARE FOR VETERANS! 🇺🇸

AMVETS Post 1, in partnership with Compassion Washington and Harkness Furniture & Mattress, is proud to host a Free Veterans Dental Event for those who have served our nation.

🦷 Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
📍 Location: AMVETS Post 1, 5717 Tyler Street, Tacoma, WA 98409

✅ Free dental services for Veterans
✅ No appointment necessary
✅ First Come, First Served

This is a wonderful opportunity for Veterans to receive needed dental care at no cost. Please share this post with fellow Veterans, family members, and friends who may benefit from these services.

Thank you to Compassion Washington, the volunteer dental professionals, and Harkness Furniture & Mattress for helping make this event possible.

Serving those who served. 🇺🇸❤️

09/24/2026

As former chair of your Washington State Governor’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee ( ), Nineline Veteran Services President Shawn Durnen has a message for Kitsap County:

“It has been my privilege to serve at the pleasure of two great Washington State Governors. During my tenure I was able to see a lot of positive movement, and these roundtables hold some of that most important conversation happening in our military community today. The needs, the goals, and the supports veterans and families are actually trying to access.

Leaders like Shellie Willis, Ron Black, Director David Puente, Heidi Audette, and many others show up on purpose. They carry your message to the Governor’s Office and take a firsthand look at what our community truly needs. Kitsap County veterans, family members, and providers: show up. Be part of the conversation. Have your voice heard.

These events are for you. If you have the time, make this a priority. Give these leaders the chance to help and know they carry your burdens with genuine care. They will advocate so that no veteran, and no veteran’s family, is left behind.”

Join the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, October 21, at the Burton Elks Lodge. Be part of the solution. Help create the space you want future veterans to walk into. Be the voice for the people you love most.

09/22/2026

Welcome Clara to our community of care!
Nineline's Newest Addition

In partnership with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, AmeriCorps, Washington Service Corps, and our state Employment Security Department, we at Nineline Veteran Services are proud to share that we have selected our Vet Corps Member for FY 2026-27. Clara Hinton, a 1st-year college student, Clara comes from a long line of military service members; the daughter of a US Army Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran, Clara brings a kind touch, a warm welcome, and the perspective of a proud lifelong military dependent.

Clara will spend the next 10 months supporting Nineline's mission of service to others, meeting with your amazing partners, tabling and attending events with our team, along with learning firsthand critical administrative skills, networking, and gaining credible experience as she moves forward working in the helping field (want to know what she's studying, ask). We are happy to support Clara through this life-changing experience and national service platform. She looks forward to getting to know you all and learning more about what service can do for our community here in Washington State. Thank you all, and again, welcome Clara to the team!

For more information on the VetCorps program connect with Clara feel free to reach her at:

[email protected] | 253.922.7225

09/21/2026

You Matter. That is the work. This week Nineline Veteran Services kept showing up carrying the only message that matters when someone is hanging on by a thread: .

Our newest team member Washington State member, Clara Hinton, and Outreach Coordinator Jeremy Cupps answered an invitation from City of DuPont city council members and joined community partners with the City of DuPont Emergency Services Foundation. What happened there was not a photo op. It was community unity in real time earnest conversation, no pretense, and a clear signal of hope for the people most at risk and most in need.

Then our case management team Julie Laney and Kristin Kirk stood with leaders and advocates from across the county at Pierce County’s inaugural Su***de Prevention Summit and 5K. Families came. Survivors came. Neighbors came. Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello marched across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as a public testament that this community will not look away.

That is how lives are saved: not in slogans, but in coordination, in unified voices of care, and in the simple, stubborn act of showing up so no one has to walk alone.

You are not alone.

You Matter.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, help is available right now. Call or text 988. Veterans and service members can press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line. It is free, confidential, and open 24/7. One conversation can be the beginning of a different tomorrow.

Hope is not a slogan. It is a person on the other end of the line, a community that refuses to let go, and the truth that your life still has a place in it.

09/18/2026

In continuing Nineline Veteran Services emphasis and state wide tour for (SPAM) su***de prevention awareness month, we were honored that our own David Konkler was able to present and discuss critical areas of mental health and broaden the reach of the states campaign. Thank you to the Sons of the American Legion Squadron #129 on Whidbey Island for allowing us to take part in this inagural Su***de Awareness and Prevention Panel tonight!

Resources mentioned:
https://hearmewa.org/
https://mobile.va.gov/app/safety-plan
https://wa988.org/

Guest Speakers:
Dave Konkler
https://9linevets.org/4119-2/
Nineline Veteran Services

Pat McMahon
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/pat-mcmahon-freeland-wa/1446228
South Whidbey Fire/EMS

Dwight Lundstrom
https://www.ohsd.net/leadership
Oak Harbor Public Schools

An amazing night of collaborative effort and shared message that you’re not alone, you’re worth it and