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Grant awarded in Wyoming to aid in curbing Veteran homelessness

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Low-income veteran families in Wyoming and Montana, who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless, will have access to crucial services from local organizations via grants provided by the Sheridan VA Health Care System’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families program.

According to a VA press release, the Sheridan VA Health Care System serves three quarters of Wyoming, and within the region the system serves the Volunteers of America of the Northern Rockies applied for and will receive an SSVF grant of just under $6 million. A list of nationwide grantees is available at http://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf. More than 260 organizations nationwide received SSVF grants.

“Supportive Services for Veteran Families is a key tool to promote housing stability among our most economically vulnerable Veterans and their families,” Sheridan VA Health Care System Director Pam Crowell said. “This program empowers our partners like Volunteers of America to provide the mix of services needed to prevent veterans from becoming homeless and rapidly re-house those who become homeless.”

The SSVF program is often used in tandem with programs like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. HUD-VASH is a collaborative program between HUD and VA which combines HUD housing vouchers with VA supportive services to help Veterans who are homeless and their families find and sustain permanent housing.

Through public housing authorities, HUD provides rental assistance vouchers for privately owned housing to veterans who are eligible for VA health care services and are experiencing homelessness. In the Sheridan area, there are 52 HUD-VASH vouchers and the majority of veterans who use them are also able to use the SSVF program.

Nationally, SSVF served over 112,000 participants, including 77,590 Veterans and 19,919 children in FY 2020. As a result of these and other efforts, Veteran homelessness is down significantly since the launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in 2010.  

The SSVF program is authorized by Congress. The funding will support SSVF services from Oct. 1, 2021, until Sept. 30, 2022. 

To learn more about the SSVF program, click here.

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