VA Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness Grant

Background
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the availability of funds for legal services grants under the Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness (LSV-H) Grant Program. The purpose of the Grant Program is to award legal services grants to eligible public or non-profit private entities who will provide legal services to eligible Veterans who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. The goal of the Grant Program is to assist homeless and at-risk Veterans who have unmet needs for legal services, which may create barriers to housing stability.

Grant Details
The NOFO provides awards designed to address the needs identified in 38 C.F.R. part 79.20, including legal services related to housing; family law; income support; criminal defense; protective orders and other matters related to domestic or intimate partner violence; access to health care; requests to upgrade military discharge or dismissal of a former member of the Armed Forces under 10 U.S.C. § 1553; consumer law, such as financial services, debt collection, garnishments, usury, fraud, and financial exploitation; employment law; and the top 10 unmet legal needs as enumerated on VA’s annual Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) survey for the grant award year.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants include public or non-profit private entities with necessary technical and administrative abilities and resources to execute the program successfully. Applicants must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting a Federal award application. Cost sharing or matching is not required for this funding opportunity.

Period of Performance
Awards made for legal services grants will fund operations beginning on August 1, 2024, for a period of 14 months.

Grant Value
Approximately $26.8 million is available for grants to provide legal services to homeless Veterans or Veterans at risk for homelessness. The LSV-H Grant Program aims to provide grant funding up to a maximum of $300,000 to eligible applicants in a 14-month grant cycle.