The El Paso VA Health Care System is organizing a motorcycle ride across El Paso County on Saturday, September 12, aiming to raise awareness of veteran suicide prevention and connect former service members with resources. Riders will check in at Barnett Harley-Davidson between 9 and 10 a.m. before kicking stands up at 10:30 a.m. and rolling through two rally points en route to a resource fair at the El Paso VA Wellness Center.
The event, announced in a Facebook post from the El Paso VA Health Care System, will gather riders at the dealership located at 8272 Gateway Blvd. E. That meeting spot carries some local weight of its own: Barnett Harley-Davidson, founded in El Paso by Sherman Barnett and expanded in 1996, once claimed the title of the world's largest Harley-Davidson dealership, with a showroom built to house hundreds of motorcycles, according to Barnett Harley-Davidson.
From the dealership, riders will head to the first rally point at the Fabens Veteran Memorial, 602 4th St. NE in Fabens, with a scheduled departure at noon. That memorial was formally dedicated in April 2026 to give rural El Paso County veterans a localized tribute and resource site, per El Paso County. The ride then continues to Flags Across America at 9550 Gateway Blvd. N., departing at 1 p.m., before the last riders are due into the El Paso VA Wellness Center at 350 Revere St. by 2 p.m.
A Flagpole and a Wall of Names Along the Route
The Flags Across America stop is home to the Old Glory Memorial's 180-foot flagpole and a Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated in 2016 that lists the names of 208 El Paso County service members killed or missing in action, according to Visit El Paso. Once riders reach the Wellness Center, the day wraps with a veteran resource fair featuring music, organizers said in the Facebook announcement.
The El Paso VA's Behavioral Health line, 915-564-6159, is staffed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for veterans seeking mental health support, while the Veterans Crisis Line remains available around the clock by dialing 988 and pressing 1. Since that shortened option launched in July 2022, the crisis line has answered more than 1.63 million calls through mid-2024 — a 22.7% increase in daily call volume — while text messages to the hotline surged 76.7%, according to VA News.
Why Reaching Veterans Outside the System Matters
The stakes behind Saturday's ride are laid out in stark numbers. A total of 6,398 U.S. military veterans died by suicide in 2023, averaging roughly 17.5 deaths per day and marking 44 fewer deaths than the year before, per the VA's 2025 Annual Report as detailed by VA News. More troubling for outreach efforts like this one: 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 had not received VA healthcare services in the year before their death, the same report found — a gap that helps explain why community rides emphasize connecting veterans, especially those not enrolled in VA care, with resources they may not know exist.
Federal policy has tried to lower the barrier to emergency help regardless of enrollment status. Under the COMPACT Act, implemented by the Department of Veterans Affairs in January 2023, any veteran in an acute suicidal crisis can receive free emergency mental healthcare and transportation at any VA or non-VA facility nationwide, whether or not they are enrolled in VA healthcare, according to VA.gov.
State Funding and Legislative Shifts Add Local Context
Texas has also been restructuring how it administers veteran mental health support. Under Texas House Bill 114, passed in the 2025 legislative session and effective September 1, 2025, administrative authority over statewide veteran mental health programs and suicide prevention planning moved from the Health and Human Services Commission to the Texas Veterans Commission, per BillTrack50.
Money has followed the policy shift locally. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced $1.7 million in Fund for Veterans' Assistance grants for West Texas organizations on Thursday, including $140,000 to the City of El Paso for veteran transportation and $685,000 to El Paso County for Veterans Treatment Court operations and financial aid, according to the Office of the Texas Governor. Texas is home to more than 1.5 million military veterans, the largest veteran population of any state, with tens of thousands living in El Paso County because of ties to Fort Bliss and regional defense facilities, per the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
Anyone interested in joining Saturday's ride can contact Tricia Boodhoo at [email protected] or 915-564-6100, extension 5353, for more details. Veterans in crisis, or those concerned about a veteran, can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1.
