September 01, 2016

CASTRO ANNOUNCES $4M TO HELP END VETERANS HOMELESSNESS

San Antonio, TX – Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) renewed $4,040,000.00 of federal funding for the non-profit agency Family Endeavors. The money is awarded under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to help thousands of very low-income veteran families around the nation who are permanently housed or transitioning to permanent housing. The SSVF grant program provides access to crucial services to prevent homelessness for veterans and their families. 

“I’m honored to represent ‘Military City USA’ in Congress,” said Rep. Castro. “It’s critical our government find ways to support the men and women who have sacrificed so much to keep Americans safe and protect our freedoms. With this substantial VA funding, Family Endeavors will be able to continue its work empowering veterans and their families to gain financial security and peace of mind. Helping our patriots should be a priority for all Americans, and I’m proud that we have organizations like Family Endeavors doing just that in San Antonio and beyond.”

San Antonio-based Family Endeavors’ mission is to provide comprehensive, effective, and innovative services that empower people to build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities. The organization provides an array of programs and services in support of children, families, veterans, and those struggling with mental illness and other significant disabilities.

“Family Endeavors is honored to have had our Supportive Services for Veteran Families funding renewed so that we can continue to provide resources for Veteran families,” said President and CEO of Family Endeavors, Travis Pearson. “Since we began receiving funding in 2011, we have served more than 15,000 Veteran households throughout the country. We look forward to helping more Veterans find the support they need to build healthy, self-sufficient lives.” 

In fiscal year (FY) 2015, SSVF served more than 157,000 participants and is on track to exceed that number in FY 2016. As a result of these and other efforts, veteran homelessness is down 47 percent since the launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in 2010. Also since 2010, more than 360,000 veterans and their family members have been permanently housed, rapidly re-housed, or prevented from falling into homelessness by VA’s homelessness programs and targeted housing vouchers provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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