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Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

Representing the 30th District of TEXAS

Congresswoman Eddie Bernince Johnson: VA Announces New Grants to Help End Veteran Homelessness

Oct 1, 2014
In The News

[Washington, DC]— In addition to the $300 million in Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program grant awards announced on August 11, 2014 serving 115,000 Veterans and their family members, today Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. McDonald, announced the award of $207 million in SSVF grants that will help an additional 70,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. The grants will be distributed to 82 non-profit agencies and include “surge” funding for 56 high need communities.

Under the SSVF program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is awarding grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income Veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing.  Those community organizations provide a range of services that promote housing stability among eligible low income Veteran families (those making less than 50 percent of the area median income).  The grants announced today will fund the fourth year of the SSVF program.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to using evidence based approaches, such as SSVF, to prevent homelessness and produce successful outcomes for Veterans and their families” McDonald said. “This is a program that works, because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some Veterans and their families to maintain stable housing.”

Under the terms of the SSVF grants, homeless providers offer Veterans and their family members outreach, case management, assistance in obtaining VA benefits and assistance in receiving other public benefits.  “I fully support the actions by the administration to combat homelessness among our veterans said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. “These men and women have placed their lives on the line for our country, and it is inexcusable that some of them are without proper housing.  The steps taken today will go a long way in repaying the debt that our nation owes these brave men and women.”

 

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Kessler Park, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, South Dallas & South Oak Cliff; all of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Ferris, Glenn Heights, South Grand Prairie, Oak Lawn, Ovilla, Uptown/Victory Park and West Dallas.