VA Grants Working to Help End Veteran Homelessness

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced on July 11 the award of $1,891,394 in homeless prevention grants to Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The grants will serve approximately 450 homeless and at-risk veteran families as part of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. This award will serve veteran families associated with the U.S. Veterans Initiative; Knowledge, Education for Success, Inc.; and Lighthouse Treatment Center. These three Inland Empire-based organizations are among 319 community agencies receiving grants in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. “With these grants, we are strengthening our partnership with community non-profits across the country to provide Veterans and their families with hope, a home, and a future,” said Shinseki. “The work of Supportive Services for Veteran Families program grantees has already helped us prevent and end homelessness among tens of thousands of homeless Veterans and their families, but as long as a single Veteran lives on our streets, we have work to do.” The U.S. Veterans Initiative in Riverside will receive an award in the amount of $730,200; Knowledge, Education for Your Success, Inc. in San Bernardino will receive $606,994; and Lighthouse Treatment Center in Alta Loma will receive $554,200. Each will serve approximately 150 participant households. Under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, VA is awarding grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income veteran families living in or transitioning to permanent housing. Those community organizations provide a range of services that promote housing stability among eligible low-income veteran families. With the SSVF grants, those community organizations can provide a range of services that promote housing stability and play a key role in connecting veterans and their family members to VA services such as mental health care and other benefits. Community-based groups can offer temporary financial assistance on behalf of veterans for rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs. This is the program’s third year. Last year, VA provided about $100 million to assist approximately 50,000 veterans and family members. In 2009, President Obama and Secretary Shinseki announced the federal government’s goal to end veteran homelessness in 2015. The grants are intended to help accomplish that goal. According to the 2012 Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness, homelessness among veterans has declined 17.2 percent since 2009. Through the homeless Veterans Initiative, VA committed over $1 billion in fiscal year 2013 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. VA provides a range of services to homeless veterans, including health care, housing, job training, and education.