If a veteran you know is sleeping in a car, couch-surfing, leaving a hospital or treatment with nowhere to go, or just barely holding on to housing — there is real help, and more of it than most people realize. The problem is rarely that nothing exists. It's that the system is scattered and nobody hands you the map. Here it is.
Start with one phone number
The National Call Center for Homeless Veterans — 1-877-424-3838 — is free, staffed 24 hours, and connects to local VA staff the same day. If there's any risk to life, call or text 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, or 911 for immediate danger. Make the 877 call first; it opens most of the doors below.
The programs that actually pay for housing
- SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) — prevention and rapid re-housing. This is the one that stops an eviction or gets someone off the street fast.
- HUD-VASH — a housing voucher paired with VA case management. The referral runs through the VA.
- Grant and Per Diem (GPD) — transitional housing run by community providers with VA funding.
- Aid and Attendance — an increased monthly VA pension for veterans (and surviving spouses) who need help with daily living. It can go toward room and board in a care setting.
A VA social worker at the nearest medical center can tell you which of these a veteran qualifies for. You don't need to figure that out alone.
What you'll want on hand
A DD-214 (discharge paperwork) unlocks most VA benefits — and if it's lost, it's replaceable for free through the National Archives. Don't let a missing document stop the first call; start the process and fill the gaps as you go.
Know the rights that come with a placement
Wherever a veteran lands — a group home, an assisted living, a GPD program — they keep specific rights: to dignity, to their own money, to complain, and to protection from an unfair discharge. Read resident rights and how to report a problem so you can hold any provider to them.
More numbers, by state
Every agency and helpline that can act today — housing, crisis, VA, Medicaid — is on our where to get help today page, organized so you're not searching blind. General questions about group homes, cost, and who pays are answered plainly in our FAQ.
Where Mai Heaven fits
Veterans are one of the core populations Mai Heaven is being built for — including the ones whose needs never fit a standard placement. We're pre-licence and not yet admitting residents, so we can't offer a bed today. What we can do is add a veteran to a waiting list a real person reads, and be honest about whether we're likely to be a fit. If you're a family member or a caseworker, see families & residents for how that works.