Of the nearly 260 organizations receiving VA SSVF grants for 2023, 31 are based in California where as much as 30 percent of all homeless veterans lived in 2020. (Photo: Bennilover)
On Aug. 1, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 260 non-profit organizations, including 31 in California, will be receiving $431 million in grant funds to combat veterans homelessness.
The grants are offered through the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families, or SSVF, program and are scheduled to be released on Oct. 1, the first day of fiscal year 2023.
The program provides several avenues of assistance to low-income veterans and their families, including:
- Providing direct assistance to veterans at “imminent risk” for homelessness.
- Finding more economically sustainable housing.
- Housing already homeless veterans and their families.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough issued a statement along with the VA’s announcement, “Nobody should be homeless in the country they fought to defend — nobody. These grant funds will help our partner organizations across the country provide at-risk veterans with the resources they need to stay in their homes, where they belong, or find a new home.”
According to the VA, the SSVF helped 114,175 veterans, spouses, and dependents last year, but the program is just one tool the VA is using to eliminate veterans homelessness in the United States. The VA claims it has housed 19,000 veterans so far in 2022 and is still on track to house 38,000 by year’s end.
Many live in California. In February, the VA reiterated its focus on combating veterans homelessness by focusing on Southern California, where roughly 30 percent of the United States’ homeless veterans live.
Of the 258 private organizations receiving funding for 2023, 31 serve California veterans — the majority of which are based in either Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, or San Bernardino County, where most of the state’s veteran population lives. However, several nonprofits represent other veteran hubs like Kern County, the Bay Area, and Sacramento.
To view the full list of 2023 SSVF grantees, click here.
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.