On September 14, 2020 the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it recently awarded $1.3 million in grants to 11 regional homelessness nonprofit organizations to bolster suicide prevention services for Veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. VA’s combined public health approach to preventing suicide and addressing homelessness aims to improve the identification of Veterans in need within the community, increase Veteran and community awareness of suicide risk and protective factors, and increase Veterans’ connectedness to community and care resources. A list of grantees is located here
The SSVF Program Office expects that each SSVF Grantee will provide Health Care Navigation services, connecting Veterans to VA or community healthcare. See below for more guidance.
Beginning April 24, 2020, through December 31, 2020, SSVF will modify guidance to allow SSVF grantees to provide housing search assistance, housing placements, security deposits, and rental assistance for Veterans participating in HUD-VASH and looking for housing. This will allow Veterans to secure prospective housing while waiting for the PHA to complete the process of issuing a HUD-VASH voucher and completing the required housing quality standards (HQS) inspection. SSVF providers may have limited capacity and resources to provide this type of assistance therefore HUD-VASH and SSVF staff should meet to discuss available funding, staffing capacity, and referral process frequently. Please review the memorandum below:.
The HUD VASH SSVF referral packet for Rapid Rehousing Assistance Temporary Final Assistance ONLY is available below. Please note that referrals for Homelessness Prevention Services, or Housing Search and Placement services will require a full intake into the SSVF Program.
Beginning March 17, SSVF will be modifying guidance it provides to grantees around temporary housing placements. Please see the Emergency Housing Assistance guidance as of May 7, 2020
Beginning March 17, SSVF will be modifying guidance it provides to grantees around temporary housing placements. Please see the Emergency Housing Assistance guidance as of May 7, 2020
The SSVF EHA Referral Form used by VA and community providers to request SSVF Emergency Housing Assistance has been revised. Please note that the EHA Referral Form is not required; however, grantees may continue to use it to facilitate EHA placements. The Program Office encourages grantees to communicate with VAMC staff and other stakeholders to coordinate EHA placements as needed. SSVF providers must ensure that EHA placements happen quickly, and grantees should evaluate their referral process to identify and eliminate any barriers to accessing this resource:
The SSVF Program Office will update guidance and the FAQ document on a regular basis, in response to questions from the field. Please continue to communicate questions to your Regional Coordinator
The SSVF Program Office would like to thank SSVF Grantees for sharing developed Policies and Procedure for this critical time. Below you will find information on various strategies being employed at this time.
Veterans Crisis Line:
1-800-273-8255 (Press 1)
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420
Last updated September 18th, 2015.