Housing & homelessness help for veterans

Sleeping in a car, a shelter or on a friend’s couch can keep your body on alert. For veterans who already live with hypervigilance, that can make nightmares, irritability and exhaustion worse.

Without a home base, days lose their shape. Many veterans say that losing the structure of military life was hard enough. Losing a home can feel like losing your footing all over again.

Small anchors help

• A daily check-in call with one person
• A fixed time to eat, even something simple
• A regular place to charge your phone and keep documents safe
• One walk or workout a day

Many veterans feel deep shame about needing housing help, especially those who were used to being the strong one. But housing programs exist because so many good people hit hard times: a job loss, a divorce, an illness or an injury.

Substance use was one of the strongest risks in the research. It can make it harder to keep a job, pay rent and keep the people who might otherwise offer a couch or a loan.

Mental health conditions were among the strongest risks too. Getting treatment is not only about feeling better. It can help with sleep, focus and keeping up with everyday tasks, including bills.

Low income and money problems came next in the research. Checking which VA benefits you may be eligible for, and getting job help, can make a real difference.

There was some evidence that social isolation raises risk. A divorce, a breakup or falling out with family can leave someone without a place to live and without the people who would usually help.

Past time in jail or prison was another risk in the research. VA’s Veterans Justice Programs offer outreach and case management for veterans involved with the justice system.

Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) is a VA grant program for low-income veteran families who are homeless or at imminent risk. It aims to prevent homelessness and to rehouse people quickly.

Community groups funded by SSVF can offer temporary money on a veteran’s behalf for rent, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs. They also connect families to VA services like mental health care.

If you’re having trouble paying your mortgage, contact your loan servicer right away. VA offers counseling to veterans and surviving spouses even if the loan isn’t VA-backed. You can reach a VA loan technician at 877-827-3702 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET).

Options VA lists include

• A loan modification that sets a new payment schedule
• A repayment plan to catch up over time
• Special forbearance: extra time to repay missed payments
• Other choices like a short sale, if keeping the home isn’t possible

VA’s Legal Services for Veterans program supports veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness with legal help.

Things that may help

• Don’t ignore court papers. Read the dates carefully.
• Ask the National Call Center or a VA social worker about legal help near you
• Keep copies of your lease, rent receipts and letters from your landlord

• Ask whether a payment plan is possible
• Get any agreement in writing
• Mention that you’re applying for help, if you are
• Tell them before the rent is due, if you can

HUD-VASH is a partnership between HUD and VA. It pairs a housing voucher that helps pay rent with a VA case manager. It aims to get veterans into safe, stable housing as quickly as possible, then connects them to health care and other services.

Your case manager can help with

• Budgeting, understanding a lease and working with a landlord
• Links to primary care, mental health and substance use care
• Support that continues for as long as you need it

It works in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tribal HUD-VASH serves eligible American Indian and Alaska Native veterans.

SSVF helps low-income veteran families avoid losing their homes, or find new housing fast if they already have. Services are run by local community organizations.

Grant and Per Diem provides temporary, transitional housing with support services, as a bridge to a permanent home.

Health Care for Homeless Veterans includes street outreach and residential treatment through community partners. Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans offers residential rehabilitation and treatment.

Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (H-PACT) offer primary care designed for veterans experiencing homelessness. VA also has a homeless veterans dental program for people in its homeless rehabilitation programs, and a Food Security Office.

Homeless Veteran Community Employment Services help veterans get ready for and find work. Stand Downs are one- to three-day events where homeless, formerly homeless and at-risk veterans can get many services in one place.

• Keep originals in a waterproof bag or with someone you trust
• Save photos of your ID, DD214 and benefit letters on your phone or in email
• Write key phone numbers on paper too, in case your phone dies

Feeling connected to others is a protective factor against suicide. Even one regular call or text with a buddy, a family member or a peer specialist can help.

The Vet Center Call Center (1-877-927-8387) is open 24/7 to talk with another veteran.

• Choose a spot where you can see the door, if that helps you settle
• Name 5 things you can see and 4 you can hear
• Slow your breathing: in for 4, out for 6
• Use earplugs or headphones to rest your senses

Alcohol or drugs can numb the stress for a night but make it harder to keep a place or a job. If you’re using more to cope, that’s a sign to ask for support.

• Ask directly and kindly: “Do you have a safe place to stay tonight?”
• Help with a phone, a charger or a mailing address
• Keep copies of important documents for them
• Offer a ride to appointments or a Stand Down event
• Stay in touch, even if they turn down help at first

HUD-VASH veterans rent homes from private landlords who accept vouchers, with a VA case manager behind them for support.

• Donate move-in items like dishes and bedding through local groups
• Employers: hire veterans and be flexible about appointments
• Faith groups: share the National Call Center number
• Volunteer at a local Stand Down event

• National Call Center for Homeless Veterans: 877-424-3838, 24/7
• VA benefits hotline: 800-827-1000 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET)
• VA loan technician (home loan trouble): 877-827-3702 (weekdays)
• Vet Center Call Center: 1-877-927-8387, 24/7
• Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255

If you served in another country’s forces, ask your country’s veterans’ agency or a local housing office what help exists for people who served. Findahelpline.com lists free, confidential helplines in many countries.

U.S. veterans living abroad can find numbers for calling the Veterans Crisis Line from overseas on its website, and its online chat works from anywhere.