Support Services
Goals & Core Concepts
The goal of the SSVF grant is to advance housing stability services to low-income Veteran families who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness. A combination of rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention services offers Veterans a wide range of opportunities to secure and retain permanent housing.
The SSVF grantee can achieve this goal by centering their services on four core concepts.
- Housing with supportive services
- Crisis response
- Veteran choice
- Progressive Assistance
Rapid Rehousing
Help for Veterans and their families to transition from literal homelessness into permanent housing. SSVF seeks to address literal homelessness of Veteran households who would remain homeless “but for” SSVF assistance. Neither employment, income, criminal history, nor sobriety is a prerequisite for receiving rapid re-housing assistance. Participants receive individualized support services to facilitate a rapid move to permanent housing. Veterans who are living in a situation known as “doubled up” or “couch surfing” in permanent housing, or otherwise living in permanent housing, would not be considered literally homeless but may be considered for homeless prevention services.
Homelessness Prevention
Help for Veterans and their families residing in permanent housing and at imminent risk of literal homelessness (within the next 30 days) may be eligible for homelessness prevention assistance. Homelessness prevention service are not the same as eviction prevention – SSVF aims to identify those Veterans who will become literally homeless within the next month “but for” SSVF assistance, even if that assistance is only focused on coordinating other resources or mediating landlord/familial relationships.
Overview of Supportive Services
Grantees are required to provide supportive services to eligible Veterans and their families. These services include case management, outreach, assistance in obtaining VA benefits, and assistance in accessing mainstream benefits.
Case Management
SSVF grantees are committed to helping eligible Veterans and their families by identifying practical solutions to housing instability within service delivery. At the core of SSVF service delivery is case management, which follows a housing with supportive services approach to help Veterans secure and maintain stable housing. Case managers work closely with each Veteran to identify housing barriers, create personalized housing stability plans (HSPs), and connect them with essential resources, including temporary financial assistance (TFA), legal services, and health care.
Outreach
SSVF grantees perform outreach across their entire service area as defined in their grant agreement. Outreach is tailored to reach low-income Veteran families and conduct screenings to determine their eligibility for supportive services. Grantees will work with their local VAMCs and CoC outreach teams to conduct street outreach and site-based outreach to location such as emergency shelters, drop-in centers, food pantries.
Assistance Obtaining VA Benefits
As part of participant intake, the SSVF grantee should determine whether the participant household is already receiving services from VA. If the participant is already receiving services, the SSVF grantee’s assessment should focus on which additional services the participant may need, desire, and be eligible for, and the participant should be referred to the appropriate VA office for assistance. If the participant is not already receiving services from VA, the SSVF grantee should make the participant aware of the services for which they may be eligible and offer to refer the participant to the nearest VA facility.
Assistance Obtaining & Coordinating Other Public Benefits
SSVF grantees should assist participant households in accessing both public benefits and mainstream community resources. The terms “public benefits” and “community resources” are defined broadly and may include health care (medical, mental health, and substance use disorder services) and daily living services; affordable housing; employment and vocational services; income support (from public benefits); legal services; transportation; personal financial planning and credit counseling; VA fiduciary services; representative payee services; and childcare.
Specialized Services
In response to the needs of Veterans seeking services, the SSVF Program Office strives to develop new ways to strengthen services. SSVF Specialized Services go beyond the basics and enhance the supportive services SSVF grantees are providing. Often, Specialized Services are developed to address unmet needs that have been identified by grantees or to respond to an immediate crisis.
Rapid Resolution
Rapid resolution services can help Veterans to avoid episodes of homelessness, or to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. Rapid resolution is not a separate program, but rather a collection of approaches and services that SSVF grantees are required to utilize in their overall engagement with Veterans in crisis. SSVF grantees engage Veterans in conversations that explore alternatives to experiencing literal homelessness such as staying with family or friends, negotiating with landlords, or accessing community resources. Services may include mediation with a landlord, connecting to other resources, or providing limited financial assistance.
Shared Housing
Shared housing is defined as two or more people, who are not part of the same household, but live in
one permanent housing rental unit, sharing the costs associated with maintaining that housing, such
as rent and utilities. At the most basic level, shared housing is having a roommate or housemate. Shared housing is an allowable option and is not a new or separate program. Instead, it is a way to describe several situations where Veterans choose to live with other people as part of their overall housing needs, choices, and preferences.
Health Care Navigation
Health Care Navigation augments SSVF’s housing services by addressing health-related needs that impact housing stability and well-being. Through coordination, education, and advocacy, Health Care Navigators address barriers to care and support Veterans, and their families address their healthcare needs. This non-clinical service may be provided to all members of the Veteran’s household.
Legal Services
SSVF grantees must assist participants in obtaining legal services or coordinate the provision of legal services to assist participants with issues that interfere with participants’ ability to obtain or retain permanent housing. SSVF grantee must document the legal service being provided and the link between the legal issue and housing stability in the client file.
When Veterans have legal issues that cannot be covered by SSVF legal services, SSVF grantees may satisfy this requirement via referrals on an as-needed basis to community legal aid organizations, Legal Aid Clinics, and other entities (or attorneys) providing pro bono assistance. Informal coordinated referral agreements may also be made with these service providers as well as with local law schools and chapters of the American Bar Association.
Shallow Subsidy
SSVF grantees may provide shallow subsidy services to eligible Veteran households enrolled in SSVF’s Rapid Rehousing or Homeless Prevention projects. The shallow subsidy service provides partial rental assistance up to a 2-year period, for low-income and extremely low-income Veteran households allowing them to stabilize over time without losing assistance eligibility.
Returning Home
SSVF grantees may provide returning home services to eligible Veteran households enrolled in SSVF’s Rapid Rehousing project. This service is designed to help homeless Veterans return to their community of origin or another supportive location with reasonable assurance of permanent housing supports, facilitated by the SSVF program. The service aims to reduce homelessness, support family reunification, and alleviate housing competition in low-vacancy areas. It may be utilized to link Veterans to confirmed employment.