VA to award millions in grants to improve transitional housing facilities

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding 36 capital grants totaling approximately $64.7 million to community organizations under VA’s Grant and Per Diem program to improve the quality of housing options for Veterans experiencing homelessness.

The new awards will allow grantee organizations to construct new buildings and renovate existing transitional housing facilities that provide more than 900 beds nationwide for homeless Veterans.

The funds will also decrease mass housing and create more individualized unit-style living, thereby improving personal safety and reducing risks associated with close-quarters living.

“The Grant and Per Diem program fills a targeted role in VA’s evidence-based approach to preventing and ending homelessness by ensuring Veterans facing housing crises have safe and healthy accommodations during their path to permanent, stable housing,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “These grants allow VA, alongside community partners, to amplify efforts to reduce homelessness and to protect the dignity of our most vulnerable Veterans.”

The GPD program has provided community-based transitional housing with supportive services for Veterans since 1994 as they transition back to permanent housing. View previous GPD grantees and details about the program, and information about the current state of Veteran homelessness.

These grants are supported with funds authorized through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and are a part of limited series of capital grants designed to continue relief efforts in response to COVID-19.