VA announces grants, initiatives to combat veteran homelessness

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced three steps to help reduce veteran homelessness nationwide and to assist veteran families.

This funding is part of an initiative to address veteran homelessness. The VA said that in the coming year, it will award hundreds of millions to organizations that rapidly rehouse veterans and their families, among other steps to keep them housed, with the exact funding amount determined by the VA's budget beginning Oct. 1, 2025.

"Today, we call on mayors across the nation to take action to help us combat Veteran homelessness," said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement. "For many Veterans experiencing homelessness, the first step in ensuring they can take full advantage of VA services is to get them stable housing. Mayors provide key leadership and maintain strong relationships within their local communities, making them strategically positioned to rally their local landlords to support Veterans."

The grants will be distributed through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, which partners with non-profit organizations nationwide to provide services such as outreach, case management, and assistance with getting VA and other benefits.

These steps will enhance housing stability for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. In addition to the grants, the VA is launching the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Case Management Grants.

The VA will award $15 million per year for three years to existing cases to renew their grants, ranging from $75,000 to $300,000, depending on the number of covered case workers.

The VA said it expects to fund 90 renewal grants and 120 full-time equivalent case manager positions per year, though the awarded amount can't exceed $150,000 per position per year. Funding for three years will begin on or around Oct. 1, 2025.

The third initiative launched by the VA is the new Mayor's Pledge to House Homeless Veterans. The Mayors' Pledge encourages elected officials to engage landlords to pledge units to house veterans.

"These new grants are also a critical part of our work to end Veteran homelessness, empowering VA and our partners to provide more housing and wraparound services to more homeless and at-risk Veterans than ever before," McDonough said. "We will not rest until Veteran homelessness is a thing of the past."

Veteran homelessness is at a record low nationwide, according to the VA, since measurement began in 2009. Veteran homelessness has declined by 7.5% since 2023 and by 55.6% since 2010.

The VA also announced it has permanently housed almost 48,000 homeless Veterans in 2024 and 134,000 Veterans since 2022.