In 2015, the VA estimated that as many as 6,000 homeless veterans live in Los Angeles in areas like Skid Row, pictured here. (Photo: Laurie Avocado)
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $418 million in grants to over 260 non-profit organizations across the United States to combat homelessness among veterans, the agency announced July 6.
The funding is authorized under the Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, and is slated for fiscal year 2022 (beginning this October and running through September 2022). The SSVF program is intended to help non-profit organizations permanently house veterans and their families who are either already homeless or in danger of becoming homeless.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough said that “since [2010], hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families have been placed into permanent housing or prevented from falling into homelessness by VA’s homelessness programs and targeted housing vouchers provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
This fiscal year, over 112,000 veterans and their families benefited from SSFV grants.
California Organizations Account for Nearly 20% of 2022 SSVF Funding
Nearly $79 million of the $420 million in SSVF grant money for fiscal year 2022 is being directed to 32 non-profit organizations in California.
According to a 2020 Department of Housing and Urban Development report, more than half the nation’s homeless population lives in California, including 31% of the nation’s homeless veterans. As of 2020, 70% of these 11,400 veterans were unsheltered. On a brighter note, the report also says that veteran homeless in California dropped by 36.5% between 2009 and 2020.
It remains unclear how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic impact has affected efforts to curb veterans homelessness in the state. However, in an April 12 statement, the VA commented that the “pandemic has added to the nation’s housing challenges, including among veterans.”
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
