VA Allocates $600M in Funding for Homeless Veterans Program

Veterans Affairs has announced it will spend an additional $600 million in grants for nonprofits and other organizations that work with the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, which aims to help low-income Veteran families who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

“Those who have served our Nation should never find themselves on the streets, living without hope,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said in a statement. “These grants play a critical role in addressing Veteran homelessness by assisting our vital partners at the local level in their efforts. We are making good progress towards our goal to end Veterans’ homelessness, but we still have work to do.”

“The program employs a housing first model, an approach which centers on providing homeless Veterans with permanent housing quickly and then providing VA health care, benefits and services as needed,” the VA said.

The SSVF program will receive $300 million in grants for both 2014 and 2015. Last summer the VA awarded the program $300 million in grants.

According to the VA, the money served more than 39,000 veterans, in addition to 23,000 of their family members.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/va-allots-600-million-more-to-veterans-program-1.262025 Keep Reading