VA Grants Help Organizations Support Vets

When Veterans serve our Nation, they earn our gratitude and our respect. VA is committed to making sure that no Veteran is ever without a place to call home. To that end, VA is expanding the resources that help Veterans and their families to establish permanent addresses.

During the past year, VA provided Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program grants to community organizations across the country, helping more than 28,000 Veterans and their family members in the first 10 months of program operations. SSVF grants promote housing stability among homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. These grants have an immediate impact – helping to lift Veterans out of homelessness or providing help in emergency situations that put Veterans at risk of homelessness.

Now is the time for organizations to join the growing list of groups that support local Veterans. Organizations may submit a letter of intent to apply for the 2013 SSVF Program to SSVF@va.gov by 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 28.

Grantees can provide a range of supportive services to very low-income Veteran families, including financial counseling, and temporary payments landlords, utility companies, moving companies, and licensed child care providers. These grants make a real difference in our communities.

VA expects to announce a new round of funding availability soon. If you are a member of a community organization that supports homeless Veterans, or know someone who is, I encourage you to submit a nonbinding letter of intent to apply for first-time or renewal SSVF grants.

Look out for the formal SSVF Notice of Funding Availability, coming this fall, which will outline the complete application procedure. Please direct all questions to the SSVF Program Office via email at SSVF@va.gov.

John Kuhn is the National Director of Homeless Evaluation and Acting Director for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.