Dec. 19, 2018
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced the availability of funding for nonprofit organizations and other groups that serve veterans through VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. The SSVF program assists very low-income veteran families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. SSVF grantees currently operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, working within their communities to end or prevent homelessness among veteran families. VA relies on strong, targeted collaborations in key areas at Federal and local levels and engages community partners to develop innovative and forward-thinking solutions that can lead to scalable and replicable models of service.
SSVF grantees typically serve veterans with incomes below 30 percent of the area median income. Grantees must follow the housing first approach, which centers on permanently housing homeless veterans quickly without preconditions and providing supportive services as needed. Additional SSVF requirements are that grantees engage in outreach to find and serve veterans in need, provide veterans with case management, and assist them in obtaining VA and other public benefits. SSVF served over 125,000 veterans and their family members in fiscal year (FY) 2018. As a result of these and other efforts, veteran homelessness is down significantly since the launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in 2010. Since 2010, homelessness among veterans had dropped by nearly 50 percent.
The funding priorities for this NOFA are:
The Federal Register notice of funding availability, application materials, and an online training that describes the NOFA contents and application process may be found at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf. Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 22, 2019.