A Marblehead-based company conducting nationwide suicide prevention research for veterans recently had its $1 million federal contract abruptly terminated after the Department of Government Efficiency deemed it “nonessential.”
It was reinstated following Congressman Seth Moulton’s intervention.
The contract suspension, lasting about two weeks in February, threatened research by Minuteman Technology Services that helps the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluate suicide prevention programs across the country.
MTS, a service-disabled-veteran-owned small business founded 10 years ago, specializes in IT services for federal healthcare facilities. Ninety percent of its revenue comes from VA contracts.
“We do a lot of staff and veteran-facing technology implementations, so things like self-service check-in and facility navigation, digital maps, and we also do suicide prevention research,” said Tim Keeney, MTS founder and a former Navy SEAL who served from 1999 to 2005.
The now-reinstated research contract, representing about 20% of the company’s business, supports a nationwide study collecting data across 22 states to help the VA identify effective prevention strategies.
“It’s basically a nationwide study to understand attitudes and risks for suicidalities in different communities around the United States, and it’s supposed to juxtaposition those with different programs and initiatives that are going on in those states,” Keeney said.
MTS employs about 15 people from administrative positions to software developers. After receiving notice of the contract termination, Keeney immediately contacted Moulton’s office for assistance.
“I think there’s probably the same thought that other government agencies had, where it seems like some of the cancellations don’t seem very well thought out,” Keeney said.
Moulton’s staff connected Keeney with their liaison with the Veterans Affairs Committee in Congress and Washington, D.C. contacts who raised awareness about the contract’s importance.
In 2022, there were 6,407 veteran suicides in the United States — approximately 17.6 per day — with a suicide rate of 34.7 per 100,000 people, which is 57.3% higher than for non-veteran adults, according to the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
Firearms were involved in 73.5% of veteran suicides in 2022, a significantly higher proportion than the 52.2% among non-veterans who died by suicide that year. The total number of U.S. adult suicides in 2022 reached 47,891, including the veteran deaths.
Risk factors vary significantly across demographic groups. Homeless veterans using VA healthcare had a 110.2% higher suicide rate than non-homeless veterans. Veterans with military sexual trauma faced a 75% higher risk. Data shows younger veterans aged 18-34 had the highest suicide rates among the veteran population, though this group saw a 3.8% decrease from 2021 to 2022.
“The VA has got a lot of work going on at many different levels to help with suicide prevention among the veteran population,” Keeney said. “The veteran population is twice as likely to commit suicide as the regular civilian population.”
MTS’s research is particularly valuable because it reaches beyond those directly served by VA facilities, according to Keeney.
“The VA, in their mission to reduce veteran suicide, they realize that not all veterans use the VA; only about half of them do. So, they’re only really able to help half of the available population directly,” Keeney explained.
After the contract’s reinstatement, MTS was able to immediately resume its research work. The company is now also connecting with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“The results of the data are helping to inform, actively inform decisions that the VA is making about where and how much to invest in suicide prevention around the country,” Keeney said.
When asked if this experience would change how his company approaches government contracts, Keeney expressed uncertainty about the future.
“It’s still to be determined what’s going to happen in the future with government contracting, and this administration in particular,” he said. “So, we’re just going to wait and see how it’s going to all work out.”
