Description

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the availability of funds for grants under the SSVF Program. This NOFO contains information concerning the SSVF Program, the renewal and new applicant grant application processes, and the amount of funding available. Awards made for grants will fund operations beginning October 1, 2025.

A. Purpose: The SSVF Program’s purpose is to provide supportive services grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives who will coordinate or provide supportive services to very low-income Veteran families who (i) are residing in permanent housing and at risk of becoming homeless, (ii) are homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period or (iii) after exiting permanent housing within a specified time period, are seeking other housing that is responsive to such low-income Veteran family’s needs and preferences. SSVF delivers services using a housing-first approach that emphasizes permanent housing placement and supportive services as the primary objectives. Housing First is an evidence-based, cost-effective approach to ending homelessness for the most vulnerable and chronically homeless individuals

(https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/housing-first-checklist). SSVF prioritizes the delivery of rapid re-housing services to homeless Veteran households. Rapid re-housing is an intervention designed to help individuals and families quickly exit homelessness, return to housing in the community, and avoid homelessness again in the near term. The core components of a rapid re-housing program are housing identification, move-in and rent financial assistance, and rapid rehousing case management and services. These core components represent the minimum that a program must provide to households to be considered a rapid rehousing program. Applicants should familiarize themselves with the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Best Practice Standards found athttps://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.html.

B. Funding Priorities: The principal goal of this NOFO is to seek entities that have the greatest capacity to end homelessness among Veterans or sustain gains made in ending homelessness among Veterans. Priority will be given to grantees who can demonstrate the adoption of evidence-based practices in their application. Please note that the priorities for SSVF for fiscal year (FY) 2026 are different than in previous years.

Under Priority 1, SSVF is introducing a new priority for FY 2026to expand services to tribal and rural communities and the U.S. territories. VA has the ability to award up to a 3-year project period to tribal and rural communities and the U.S. territories under this NOFO. Indian tribe means a tribe that is a federally recognized tribe or a State recognized tribe. See 25 U.S.C. § 4103(13). With this priority, SSVF is seeking Native-led organizations, organizations who are deeply invested in providing services on tribal lands and reservations, and organizations who have extensive experience working with Native Veterans and Veteran families. There is an emphasis on organizations that would serve the 29 tribal communities that have tribal Department of Housing and Urban Development – VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) (https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/hud_no_24_220).

Rural communities are defined using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) definition of a rural area. Rural means: 1. Open countryside; 2. Rural towns (places with fewer than 5,000 people and 2,000 housing units); and 3. Urban areas with populations ranging up to 50,000 people that are not part of larger labor market areas (metropolitan areas) (https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/).

The U.S. territories are a priority including American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Priority 1 for FY 2026 is open to new and existing applicants; however, priority will be given to organizations that have a demonstrated track record of serving the tribal or rural community or the U.S. territory that they are proposing to serve. Additionally, applicants should have demonstrated cultural awareness and language access for the areas they are proposing to serve.

Under Priority 2, VA will provide funding to existing grantees who have at least one of the following accreditations: 3-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in Employment and Community Services: Rapid Rehousing and Homeless Prevention standards, a 4-year accreditation in Housing Stabilization and Community Living Services from the Council on Accreditation (COA), or a 3-year accreditation in The Joint Commission’s (JC) Behavioral Health Care: Housing Support Services Standards. Priority 2 applicants must demonstrate that accreditation is active at the date of submission, and accreditation must be maintained throughout the project period and/or funding cycle.

Under Priority 3, existing SSVF grantees not included in Priority 2 but who have annual awards and are seeking to renew their grants, may apply. Existing grantees are SSVF grantees that have a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for operations through September 30, 2025.