What SUAS does
Peer-bridge crisis support for veterans in Santa Clara County, California: a fellow veteran who shows up, a ride, a meal, a safe bed for the night, and a warm hand-off to the services that can carry the rest.
Veterans who are slipping, before they fall
SUAS serves veterans of every branch and era in Santa Clara County, along with the families and friends who are trying to help them. Most of the people we reach are not in a 911 emergency. They are isolated, behind on a bill, sleeping in a car, waiting weeks for an appointment, or simply not answering the phone. That is the gap we work in: the days and weeks between “something is wrong” and “help has started.”
Four ways we show up
Peer-bridge crisis response
When a veteran or a family member reaches out, a fellow veteran responds, in person where possible. The responder stays with the person through the immediate need and the follow-up, so nobody is handed a phone number and left alone. Our mobile peer response is available around the clock, every day of the year, within the limits of a volunteer team.
Free ride, free food, emergency shelter
The three things a veteran in trouble most often needs tonight. We pay for a ride to safety or to an appointment, put a hot meal in their hands, and cover a safe bed for the night when the alternative is the street. Donations fund these directly: about $20 for a ride, $25 for a meal, $120 for a bed.
Direct service referral
We walk veterans into the systems built to serve them instead of pointing at a website: VA health care and benefits, county veterans services, housing and food programs, legal aid, and treatment. We make the call with them, go to the first appointment when it helps, and check back until the service has actually started.
Free community events
Isolation is the common thread in nearly every veteran crisis we see, so we run free gatherings that give veterans a reason to leave the house and a room full of people who understand them. In August 2026 we hosted the Veterans Innovation Hackathon at Hacker Dojo in Mountain View, where veterans and engineers built tools for veteran support over three days.
The QRF app: one tap between a veteran and help
We are building a crisis-response app so that a veteran in trouble answers one question, “What do you need?”, and taps once. Behind that tap a peer responder gets moving with a ride, a meal, or a bed, and the trusted people the veteran has chosen are kept in the loop. The app is in development and pilot planning; it is not yet a live service, and it is never a substitute for 911 or the Veterans Crisis Line.
Reach us
If you are a veteran in Santa Clara County, or you are worried about one, email jacobsilver@suasqrf.org, call or text (925) 727-6109, or use the contact form. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Veterans in crisis can reach the Veterans Crisis Line any time at 988 (press 1) or by texting 838255.
SUAS is peer support and care coordination. We are not a medical, mental-health, or emergency provider, and we do not diagnose or treat. See our Safety page for the boundaries we work inside.