The VA is awarding nearly $116 million to organizations that combat veteran homelessness, including $12 million to California organizations starting Sept. 30. (Photo: VA.gov)
The Department of Veterans Affairs last week announced that it will be awarding over $116 million to over 200 community organizations as part of its Grant and Per Diem, or GPD program, including nearly $12 million to organizations in California.
The grants are broken down into three categories, all of which relate to combating veterans homelessness: capital awards, which fund general renovations; special needs awards, which cater to specific groups; and case management awards, which allocate funds to organizations that help veterans with housing stability.
The VA says that the funds will start being dispersed on Sept. 30, with the timetable ranging between 18 months and three years, depending on the type of award. The VA also notes that because the capital awards grants are authorized by the 2020 CARES Act, these funds must be mostly used to create single-unit housing rather than shared spaces to limit the spread of disease.
Breaking Down Grant Funds to California Organizations
As part of the GPD program, California will receive approximately $3.7 million in capital awards, $3.9 million in special needs awards, and $4.4 million in case management awards starting Sept. 30.
The California organizations receiving capital awards funds include The Salvation Army in Rancho Palos Verdes and Good Samaritan Shelter in Santa Maria, among others. In total, these funds will provide 90 single-housing units within 18–24 months.
The special needs grants awarded to California organizations like Vietnam Veterans of San Diego include three VA-designated categories: “women”, “chronically mentally ill”, and “frail elderly” veteran groups. These funds are expected to produce 35 units within three years.
And finally, the case management awards are expected to fund VSOs in California with housing assistance for two years. However, it is not clear how many units will be provided with these funds, if any.
Readers can see the full list of organizations receiving GPD grants 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.
