PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Veteran Services is accepting applications for $750,000 in grants aimed at innovative solutions to end veteran homelessness, officials announced this week.
"This is part of Governor Hobbs’ AZ Promise, helping veterans realize the Arizona promise of opportunity, security and freedom,” said John Scott, Director of AZDVS. “The $750,000 is seed money to really look at where there are gaps in services currently that we can fill immediately.”
The initiative focuses on removing obstacles that often hinder veterans’ access to stable housing, including the need for medical detox, family housing shortages and pet restrictions.
“A veteran shouldn’t have to leave their pet to obtain housing,” Scott said. “If they need medical detox, they should be able to get it at the time they need it, so they can enter into supportive housing and a therapeutic environment.”
In Maricopa County, the 2023 Point-In-Time (PIT) count reported 505 self-identified veterans experiencing homelessness.
Statewide, the report showed 929 self-identified. These numbers, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), are not a perfect representation and the actual number can be about twice the point in time count due to a number of factors, since the PIT number is based on self-reporting.
Grants are open to any organization with a history of service to veterans experiencing homelessness and “who are amenable to some of these new ideas that we’ve come up with,” Scott said.
Individual grants will not exceed $200,000, with funding levels determined on a case-by-case basis.
As Scott explained, “It may be that a small organization can board animals while veterans go through detox and treatment, and that may be a smaller dollar amount. Or someone may say, ‘I’ve got 40 new transitional housing beds,’ which would require a larger amount.”
Applications should be submitted through the department’s website, azdvs.gov.
“I wouldn’t wait to the last minute to do your grant submission,” Scott advised, “so that we don’t have any instances where somebody’s missed a deadline.”
For more information and to apply, visit azdvs.gov. The application window closes Oct. 3 at 5 p.m.
