VA awards $100 million in homeless grants
Published: July 17, 2012
WASHINGTON – Veterans Affairs officials on Tuesday awarded nearly $100 million in new grant for homeless assistance programs throughout the country, an effort they say will benefit more than 42,000 veterans and their family members.
The grants, part of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, award funds to private organizations that provide assistance to low-income families. The program is in its second year, and awarded about $60 million in grants in 2011.
The awards are part of the department’s larger effort to end veterans homelessness by 2015. VA officials believe that fewer than 60,000 veterans are now chronically homeless, a decline of more than 90,000 from public estimates four years ago.
Programs included in these awards are aimed not only at getting those veterans off the streets but also “housing stability” for those individuals, in many cases providing a permanent place to live.
The grants were given to 151 community agencies in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. A full list is available online at the VA’s web site.
