Secretary of the V.A. Shinseki Announces $17 Million in Homeless Grants

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced that 19 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will share more than $17 million in grants to community groups to create 1,155 beds for homeless Veterans this year.

“These grants will aid our efforts to eliminate homelessness among those who have served in uniform,” said Secretary Shinseki. “Our partnerships with community-based organizations provide safe, transitional housing while these Veterans leverage VA’s health care and other benefits to return to productive lives.”

A key tool in VA’s drive to eliminate homelessness among Veterans, the grants helped VA reduce the number of Veterans who are homeless on a typical night last year by 15 percent to about 131,000 Veterans.

In other programs, VA provides health care to 100,000 homeless Veterans, compensation and assistance in obtaining foreclosed homes and excess federal property, including clothes, footwear, blankets and other items.

That includes the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program operating from 132 sites to provide outreach, physical and psychiatric examinations and referrals for more than 40,000 Veterans annually, while 2,100 beds in VA domiciliaries provide treatment to more than 5,000 Veterans each year.

In addition, VA partners with volunteers and community organizations to serve tens of thousands of Veterans each year through "stand downs" offering Veterans who often are living lives in the shadows access to basic services and referrals.

VA works with a variety of federal agencies and Veterans organizations not only to mitigate and eliminate homelessness but toward a goal of preventing its occurrence in the first place.

VA’s goal is to have a “no wrong door" phenomena, meaning Veterans who seek assistance should find it either in VA internal programs, from community partners or through contract services.

In terms of dollars and number of Veterans served, VA has the largest integrated network of homeless assistance programs in the nation. In fiscal year 2009, VA expected to spend $2.8 billion to provide health care and specialized homeless programs, with an anticipated $400 million increase in the budget for fiscal year 2010.

VA social workers and clinicians work with community and faith-based partners to conduct extensive outreach programs, clinical assessments, medical treatments, alcohol and drug abuse counseling and employment assistance.

More information about VA’s homeless programs is available on the Internet at http://www.va.gov/homeless. The list of recipients is below.

Recipients of VA Grants for Homeless Veterans

State City Recipients Amount Program

Ariz. Tucson Esperanza En Escalante $450,938 10 beds
Calif. Adelanto Life Community Development $227,240 12 beds, 1 van

Los Angeles Volunteers of America $506,108 48 beds
Colo. Aurora Aurora Compre-hensive Community Mental Health $46,706 15 beds

Denver Bo Mathews Center for Excellence $362,798 16 beds, 1 van

Denver Volunteers of America $72,327 8 beds
Conn. New London New London Homeless Hospitality Center $130,627 8 beds
D.C. Washington US Veterans Initiative $942,500 85 beds
Fla. Orlando Center for Drug Free Living $1,049,257 28 beds, 1 van

St. Cloud Transition House $275,925 4 beds

St. Petersburg Boley Centers $94,015 13 beds

Tampa Tampa Crossroads $500,370 16 beds, 1 van
Ga. Augusta Augusta Steppingstones to Recovery $499,070 16 beds, 1 van
Kan. Emporia Corner House. $308,295 18 beds,
Ky. Hopkinsville Pennyroyal Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center $1,604,714 50 beds
Mich. Detroit Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries $932,500 60 beds, 1 van

Southfield The Salvation Army $1,241,289 34 beds
Southfield The Salvation Army $962,000 30 beds


Southfield The Salvation Army $397,289 30 beds
Mo. Kansas City The Salvation Army $656,110 30 beds
N.M. Las Cruces Mesilla Valley Community of Hope $180,750 22 beds, 1 van
N.Y. Avon Zion Episcopal Church $96,015 6 beds



Bronx Everywhere and Now Public Housing $158,715 61 beds

Bronx Everywhere and Now Public Housing $188,500 84 beds


Schenectady The Altamont Program, Inc $46,332 12 beds
N.C. Ridgecrest First at Blue Ridge, Inc. $125,813 10 beds
Ore. Eugene Sponsors, Inc. $506,527 10 beds
Pa. Philadelphia Diversified Housing Solutions, Inc. $436,020 30 beds

Pittsburgh Community Human Services Corporation $8,642 10 beds

Puerto Rico Aguadilla Casa Del Peregrino Aguadilla, Inc. $75,433 12 beds
S.C. Wagner Christ Central Ministries $1,592,500 96 beds
Tenn. Hohenwald Buffalo Valley, Inc. $142,350 14 beds
Texas Houston Forest Lawn Missionary Baptist Church $169,361 25 beds, 1 van

Houston Spiller Personal Care Home, Inc. $1,900,000 184 beds,1 van