VA awards $56 million in grants to fight Veteran homelessness in Missouri and Illinois
PRESS RELEASE
September 14, 2026
ST. LOUIS, MO - The Department of Veterans Affairs today awarded $17 million in grants to 17 community organizations in Missouri to help Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and nearly $39 million to 25 organizations in Illinois.
This funding is part of a record-high $1.17 billion in grants awarded to 680 organizations across the country in FY 2027 to fight Veteran homelessness. The grants follow VA’s success in housing 51,936 homeless Veterans in Fiscal Year 2025, the highest number in seven years.
"From St. Louis to communities throughout Missouri and Illinois, we believe that the Veterans who defended our homes deserve a stable home of their own," said Candace Ifabiyi, CEO/Director of the VA St. Louis Health Care System. "By funding our on-the-ground local organizations, we are bringing critical resources directly into the neighborhoods where our Veterans live, making a tangible difference in our local communities."
Resource and supportive services grants will be distributed through the agency’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to:
• Prevent the imminent loss of a home.
• Identify new, more suitable housing situations for Veterans and families.
• Rapidly re-house Veterans and their families who are homeless and might remain homeless without assistance.
Funds for transitional housing and intensive supportive services will be distributed through the agency’s Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program to:
• Fund transitional housing with supportive services or service centers.
• Support transition-in-place housing, where Veterans remain in their current housing unit while receiving services to help them move toward permanent, stable housing.
• Provide special housing designed to better serve women Veterans and those who are chronically mentally ill, frail, or elderly.