Social Work Commons^™

The Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program represents a crucial component of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) plan to prevent and end homelessness among Veterans. Operationalized in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, SSVF is the first and only VA program that provides services to Veterans and their families. SSVF is a community-based, competitive grant program that rapidly re-houses homeless Veteran families and prevents homelessness for those at imminent risk due to a housing crisis. The program focuses on achieving housing stability through a short-term, customized intervention using a time limited case management approach. Services include financial assistance …

Existing research suggests that Veterans experiencing homelessness make disproportionate and costly use of acute health, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, but that placement in programs like the US Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) can result in substantial reductions in the utilization of these services and associated costs. Several studies have demonstrated that, for certain high need individuals and Veterans, cost savings resulting from the reduction in these acute care services subsequent to placement in permanent supportive housing (PSH) can substantially or completely offset the cost of providing PSH and may even result in …