RELEASE: HIRONO, SCHATZ ANNOUNCE $3 MILLION FOR VETERAN HOMELESSNESS RELIEF

HONOLULU – Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Brian Schatz today announced $3 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help end veteran homelessness in Hawaii.

“Safe, affordable housing is a basic necessity. Finding and keeping a job, supporting a family, and living a secure life without a place to call home is a major challenge for too many of our Hawaii veterans. We must do better for our veterans in need,” said Senator Hirono, member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “The grants announced today will support ongoing efforts to provide much-needed services to at-risk veterans and their families.”

“No veteran should ever go without care or without a place to sleep at night,” Senator Schatz said. “These funds from the VA will make sure veterans who have fallen on hard times have access to job training and temporary financial assistance for rent and utility expenses to help them get back on their feet. Our veterans and their families have made great sacrifices for our nation, and we must continue to make sure every veteran has a safe place to call home.”

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to using evidence based approaches such as SSVF to prevent homelessness and produce successful outcomes for Veterans and their families,” said Secretary of Veteran Affairs Robert A. McDonald. “This is a program that works, because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some Veterans and their families to remain stably housed.”

The grants will provide the United States Veterans Initiative in Honolulu and Catholic Charities Hawaii with $1.5 million each as a part of the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. The SSVF program administers funding to programs across the U.S. that provide low-income veterans and their families with assistance in obtaining VA benefits, counseling, and temporary financial assistance.

More information about VA’s homeless programs is available at www.va.gov/homeless. 

Details about the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program are online at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.