VA News Released 2024

VA awards $26.8M in grants to support legal services for Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness

Program: VA’s Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness Grant Program

This grant program is enabled by the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D., Veterans
Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 and ensures at least 10% of funding
supports the provision of legal services for women Veterans. Individual grant awards
were up to $300,000 for a 14-month grant cycle starting Aug. 1, 2024. Grant recipients
will deliver a variety of legal services to Veterans:

• Providing representation in landlord-tenant disputes to prevent eviction.
• Assisting with court proceedings for child support, custody, or estate planning.
• Helping Veterans obtain benefits like disability compensation.
• Defending Veterans in criminal cases that can prolong or increase their risk of
homelessness, such as outstanding warrants, fines, and driver’s license
revocation.
• Upgrading characterization of discharges or dismissals of former members of the
Armed Forces.

Meeting the needs of Veterans at risk or experiencing homelessness is a whole-of
government effort. Today’s grant awards complement other programs delivering needed
services to at-risk Veterans, including the recent $57 million announcement from the
U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program to help
Veterans experiencing homelessness re-enter the workforce.