VA announces upcoming awards of nearly $326M in grants to help at-risk Veterans and family members

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that thousands of low-income Veteran families around the nation will continue to receive benefits under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program.

These Veterans, who are permanently housed or transitioning to permanent housing, will continue to have access to crucial services with the funding of approximately $326 million in grants.

SSVF funding, which supports outreach, case management and other flexible assistance rapidly to re-house Veterans who are homeless — or at risk of becoming homeless — will be awarded to 252 nonprofit organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A list of applicants that will be awarded grants is located at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.

“At VA, we’re dedicated to fulfilling President Lincoln’s promise of taking care of Veterans and their families, and the SSVF program has proven extremely effective in doing just that. It provides low-income Veterans and their families with the services and support they need to secure and maintain stable housing,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Our hope is to see many more Veterans avoid or exit homelessness because of these important grants.”

Grantees will continue to provide eligible Veteran families with outreach, case management and assistance obtaining VA and other benefits. These may include:

• Health care
• Fiduciary payee
• Financial planning
• Child care
• Legal support
• Transportation
• Housing counseling, and
• Other services.

SSVF grantees are expected to leverage supportive services grant funds to enhance the housing stability of low-income Veteran families that are occupying permanent housing. In doing so, grantees are required to establish relationships with local community resources.

In fiscal year (FY) 2017, SSVF served more than 129,450 participants, including approximately 83,900 Veterans and 27,535 children. Because of these and other efforts, Veteran homelessness is down significantly since the launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in 2010.

The applicants to which grants will be awarded competed under a Nov. 6, 2017, Notice of Fund Availability. Applications were due Jan. 12, 2018. The funding will support SSVF services in FY 2019, which starts Oct. 1, 2018, and ends Sept. 30, 2019.

The SSVF program is authorized by 38 U.S.C. 2044. VA implements the program by regulations in 38 CFR Part 62. Visit www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp to learn more about the SSVF program.