Helping Veterans with Veteran Housing Grants

The War on Terrorism, Viet Nam War, and even the Korean War have produced many injured, disabled, and homeless veterans who both sides of Washington often seem to forget about. However, there are a number of resources that veterans can turn to to help get back on their feet. Homeless veterans can often turn to the VA for veteran housing grants or loans that can pave their way toward homeownership and independence.

Veteran Housing Grants

A number of regulations govern eligibility, use, and the dollar value of housing grants for veterans. Thankfully, the regulations aren’t too complex and anyone with certain forms of military-related disability may be able to qualify.

Types of Veteran Housing Grants

Veterans Affairs currently offers two forms of disability housing grants. Both grants require that the applying veteran intends to live permanently at the home and have a qualifying, service-related disability. Specially Adapted Housing grants are worth up to $90,364 and require the veteran to own the home. On the other hand, Special Home Adaptation grants cap at $18,074. The tradeoff is that a veteran can apply for them to modify or assist in purchasing a home owned by a family member, so long as they intend to live there.

Regulations on Spending

Veterans aren’t required to spend either grant all at once. They can use as much or as little of the grant to buy, build, or modify the property as needed and tap into the remaining funds at a later date. As funds increase over the years, this increase will apply to grants that haven’t been fully used. That is to say if you apply for a $90,000 grant and spend $50,000 but leave the remaining $40,000 unspent until a later date when the cap rises to $100,000, you’ll still have access to $50,000.

Qualifying Disabilities

Numerous forms of qualifying disability may qualify you for a SAH or SHA grant. As per the Veterans Affairs website, these include, but are not limited to:

• Blindness in both eyes (with 20/200 visual acuity or less)
• Certain respiratory or breathing injuries
• The loss or loss of use of more than one limb
• The loss or loss of use of a lower leg along with the residuals (lasting effects) of an organic (natural) disease or injury
• The loss or loss of use of both hands
• Certain severe burns
• Blindness in both eyes (having only light perception) along with the loss or loss of use of a leg
• The loss, or loss of use, of one lower extremity (foot or leg) after September 11, 2001, which makes it so you can’t balance or walk without the help of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair

Call the National Veterans Foundation, Live Independently

Are you a homeless veteran, or is there a homeless veteran in your life? If so, contact us at the National Federation for Veterans. We’ll help connect you to Veteran’s benefits, support networks, and help you fight for the benefits you deserve.