Ending homelessness among veterans is one of the most ambitious goals of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the organization recently took a large step forward in accomplishing it. The VA announced it received $100 million in grants earlier this week that will be going to organizations that help veterans and their families.
The grants are part of Supportive Services for Veteran Families, an initiative aimed at helping low-income military families transition to permanent housing. The funds will go toward a number of different programs including case management, help in obtaining benefits and general financial assistance for things like rent, utility payments and other expenses.
"We are committed to ending veteran homelessness in America," said Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "These grants will help VA and community organizations reach out and prevent at-risk veterans from losing their homes."
There is certainly a very real need for action on veteran homelessness. According to recent findings from the Center for American Progress, as many as one in seven homeless people are veterans, and 1 million more servicemembers are at risk of becoming homeless.