Tampa, Florida – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a record-high $1.17 billion in grants to 680 organizations across the country to help veterans who are homeless or at risk of losing their housing. The grants will be distributed in fiscal year 2027 and follow the VA’s housing of 51,936 homeless veterans in fiscal year 2025, the most in seven years. Tampa Veterans’ Attorney David W. Magann says the announcement reflects genuine momentum and points to an under-addressed reason veterans fall into homelessness in the first place: unresolved disability claims.

Of the total, $855 million will be awarded through VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, funding one-year grants beginning October 1, 2026, to provide case management services, prevent imminent housing loss, identify suitable alternatives, and rapidly rehouse veterans already without stable shelter. 

The remaining $318 million goes through the Grant and Per Diem program in the form of three-year grants, also beginning October 1, 2026, to fund transitional housing, support services, and specialized housing for women veterans, those who are chronically mentally ill, frail, elderly, or terminally ill, and veterans caring for minor dependents.

The Disability Gap Behind Homelessness

Magann, a Marine Corps veteran and veterans disability attorney practicing in the Tampa Bay area, said the investment reflects a serious commitment to helping veterans in crisis. He also said the broader policy conversation tends to skip over a chronic driver of that crisis.

Magann also noted that housing instability often starts there. A denied claim, a rating that came in too low, or a TDIU case that was never fully developed can mean a veteran is short hundreds or even thousands of dollars every month. No amount of transitional housing funding fixes that underlying gap.

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, or TDIU, allows a veteran to receive compensation at the 100 percent rate when a service-connected condition prevents him or her from maintaining substantially gainful employment, even if their combined rating falls below 100 percent. Magann said this benefit is among the most frequently underdeveloped in the claims process and is most directly tied to financial stability.

What Veterans Should Do

Magann encourages any veteran who is currently unhoused, at risk of losing housing, or navigating financial instability to take two parallel steps: access the emergency housing resources now available through VA’s expanded grant programs, and have their disability rating reviewed by an attorney to determine whether compensation has been missed, denied, or underrated.

Veterans can access information about Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Grant and Per Diem housing resources at va.gov. Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness can also reach the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).