The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (otherwise known as the VA) has announced that it has awarded $130 million in grant funding to veterans around the country to help combat homelessness among veterans and their families. This money is meant to deal with the unfortunate tendency for veterans to become homeless after coming back from their service. These grants help homeless veterans by giving them the resources they need to find stable living conditions, allowing them to get back on their feet.
What Are These Grants?
These grants were handed out as part of the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families program. These grants help fund grants to veterans that allow them to find permanent housing, either on their own or through certain nonprofit groups. They also provide incentives to landlords to rent to veterans and their families, and can help cover the costs of moving into their new residences.
How Did This Funding Help?
The $130 million in grants supplements existing grants issued for Fiscal Year 2022, and is in addition to the grants that will be issued for FY 2023. This helps to expand the number of eligible veterans from those at 50% of their Area Median Income, up to those at 80% of the Area Median Income. This substantially increases the number of homeless veterans who can benefit from this program, helping to remove as many as 22,000 homeless veterans from the streets.
How Does This Affect Disabled Veterans?
While veterans as a whole are more likely to be homeless compared to the general population, this is especially true for veterans with disabilities. This is because their disabilities keep them from being able to find work, forcing them onto the streets when they run out of money to pay their bills. Grants from programs like Supportive Services for Veteran Families, in addition to other veteran benefits, can help to alleviate this problem by ensuring they can afford to find a place to live.
What Should You Do?
If you are a disabled veteran struggling with your expenses and are homeless or in danger of homelessness, you may have options available, including applying for VA disability benefits. To understand what options are available to you, it is best to speak to a lawyer with experience handling veterans’ disability claims. They can help you to apply for benefits, and fight for you if you do not get a favorable outcome to your application.
The attorneys of Sullivan & Kehoe place a special focus on assisting disabled veterans. Our veterans’ disability lawyers are still available for remote consultation on your legal issues. Call our office at (800) 395-7830 to schedule a consultation in our New York City, Garden City, Kings Park, Riverhead, or White Plains office, or visit our contact page.
