Lujan Grisham Announces Over $1.8 Million in Grants to Help End Veterans’ Homelessness in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – July 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) today announced that two community non-profit organizations in Albuquerque will receive $1,864,723 in grants that will help homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.

Goodwill Industries of New Mexico has been awarded $1,085,481, and New Mexico Veterans Integration Centers will receive $779,242.

“These grants will help veterans in New Mexico receive the assistance, care and services they deserve.” Rep. Lujan Grisham said. “New Mexico’s heroes have put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe, and now we owe it to them to keep working until no veteran is forced to live on the streets.”

During her time in Congress, Rep. Lujan Grisham has been committed to supporting service members and veterans in New Mexico and across the country. In June, Rep. Lujan Grisham hosted a Veterans Town Hall on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brian Injury.

The grants are issued by the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and will support private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing. The SSVF program supports VA’s efforts to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless and rapidly re-house those who have recently fallen into homelessness.

Thanks to the SSVF grants, these community organizations will provide a range of services that promote housing stability and play a key role in connecting veterans and their family members to VA services such as mental health care and other benefits. Community-based groups can offer temporary financial assistance on behalf of veterans for rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs.