By
- Kayode Crown | kcrown@al.com
The Department of Veterans Affairs is making available $29 million to assist homeless veterans and those veterans enrolled in a housing program jointly run with the Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act of 2025 authorized the move
The law specifically mentioned assistance in the form of:
- Food, shelter, clothing, blankets and hygiene items
- Tablets, smartphones, disposable phones and other technology, and related service plans to maintain contact with service providers, prospective landlords, and family members
- Transportation for appointments with service providers, to conduct housing and employment searches, and get food and supplies
“Under President Trump, VA is making amazing progress keeping Veterans off the streets, and this critical program will help us continue these important efforts,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in an Aug. 14 announcement
VA medical centers will begin providing goods and services to those eligible in early fiscal year 2027, the announcement said. Clinicians nationwide will identify and distribute up to $11 million in aid to them
The remaining $18 million will provide free transportation, and the department is inviting transportation companies to submit proposals to transport the former service members to medical, counseling and other necessary appointments
In June, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Collins announced $33 million in funding for the HUD–Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing initiative. That funding covers 2,532 new vouchers for homeless veterans across 265 Public Housing Authorities in 44 states, pushing the total number of active vouchers under the program to more than 118,000
The VA Homeless Programs Office, citing the latest homelessness data, said on a single night in January 2025, 32,495 veterans experienced homelessness in the U.S
