Introduction

Veterans experiencing homelessness do not constitute a single clinical, social, or economic population. They come from different generations, branches of service, occupations, deployments, family circumstances, income levels, and periods of military service. The immediate cause of homelessness may be unemployment, unaffordable housing, loss of income, family disruption, disability, release from incarceration, or difficulty navigating housing and benefit systems. Some Veterans need substantial clinical or recovery services; others principally need temporary residential stability, housing navigation, documentation, income stabilization, or help using benefits they have already earned.

That distinction is the foundation for this Part of the Borden Avenue Report 2026. The Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program funds community organizations to provide transitional supportive housing to Veterans experiencing homelessness and to help them move toward permanent housing. VA describes GPD as a program that serves Veterans at different stages of that transition through housing models tailored to differing needs. The central question, therefore, is not how to fit every homeless Veteran into a single institutional model. It is how to identify the barrier between the individual Veteran and stable housing and then use the appropriate combination of federal, local, and community resources to remove it.

SCOPE OF PART 2
This Part establishes the general Veteran, eligibility, GPD, and transition framework. Detailed treatment of vulnerable Veterans and women Veterans is reserved for Parts 3 and 4.

Veteran Status and VA Eligibility Are Different Questions

Being a Veteran and being eligible for a particular VA benefit are related but distinct questions. Military service does not create identical eligibility for every federal program. Depending upon the benefit, eligibility can turn on such factors as character and circumstances of discharge, length or period of service, disability status, income, homelessness criteria, or other statutory and regulatory requirements. A Veteran may qualify for one VA program and not another.

For this report, the phrase “VA-eligible Veteran” therefore refers to a Veteran who satisfies the applicable requirements for the federal resource being discussed. It should not be read as creating a hierarchy of Veterans. In a municipal shelter system, the practical responsibility is to identify military service early, determine which VA resources may apply, preserve existing federal benefits and healthcare relationships, and connect Veterans who do not qualify for a particular federal program with appropriate City, State, nonprofit, and Veteran-oriented alternatives.

CORE DISTINCTION
Veteran status identifies military service. Program eligibility determines access to a specific benefit. A competent transition system must address both.

The Grant and Per Diem Program

VA describes GPD as a transitional supportive-housing program delivered through community-based organizations. Its purpose is not permanent institutional residence. It is a temporary platform from which a Veteran can stabilize, use supportive services, increase income or skills where appropriate, and move into permanent housing. The governing federal framework is 38 C.F.R. Part 61, while VA also publishes recipient guides, funding notices, general terms and conditions, and program-management materials for grantees.

The program’s design matters because GPD is not a single treatment protocol. VA funds different approaches to transitional housing and has historically used models such as Service Intensive, Bridge Housing, Low Demand, Clinical Treatment, Hospital to Housing, and Transition in Place. The existence of different models reflects a basic operational principle: Veterans experiencing homelessness do not all require the same intensity or type of intervention.

A Veteran-centered placement process should therefore distinguish among Veterans who principally need:

• temporary residential stability while searching for housing;
• intensive case management or supportive services;
• clinical behavioral-health or substance-use treatment when appropriate;
• a short-term bridge to an identified permanent-housing resource;
• employment, education, benefits, or income stabilization; or
• reentry assistance following incarceration.

Clinical services can be essential for Veterans who need them, but homelessness itself should not be treated as a diagnosis. The appropriate level of service should follow individualized assessment and program eligibility rather than a blanket assumption that every Veteran entering transitional housing requires the same clinical model.

Military Service as a Source of Strength

A period of homelessness can obscure the capabilities a Veteran developed before or during military service, but it does not erase them. Veterans may bring experience in teamwork, responsibility, leadership, technical work, adaptability, problem-solving, structured routines, and functioning under pressure. Civilian transition can also involve the loss of military structure, community, shared purpose, and professional identity. When later combined with housing loss, unemployment, or family disruption, that separation can become more pronounced.

A transitional program should therefore assess both barriers and strengths. Service planning should consider the immediate cause of housing loss, military and civilian employment history, education, existing income and benefits, current healthcare relationships, documentation problems, housing barriers, vocational goals, and community connections. The objective is not simply to catalogue deficits. It is to determine what existing capabilities and targeted assistance can return the Veteran to stable civilian life.

Maintaining the Connection to VA

One of the principal advantages of Veteran-specific transitional housing is its ability to function as a bridge into the wider VA system. Depending upon eligibility and individual circumstances, a Veteran may already receive or potentially qualify for VA healthcare, disability compensation, HUD-VASH, employment and vocational assistance, mental-health or substance-use treatment, Veterans Justice services, and other federal resources.

A community GPD provider does not need to recreate that entire federal system. Its role should include helping the Veteran use those resources effectively and coordinating them with housing, employment, benefits, and local services. For a Veteran who already has an established VA clinical team, housing voucher, disability income, or justice-program contact, entry into a shelter or transitional residence should not unnecessarily break those relationships.

Justice-Involved Veterans and Reentry

Justice involvement is one example of why individualized transition matters. A Veteran leaving incarceration may need identification documents, benefits restoration, supervision coordination, employment assistance, healthcare reengagement, and housing. Those needs differ from those of a Veteran who already possesses a housing voucher and principally needs an apartment and efficient processing.

VA itself maintains Veterans Justice Programs designed to reach justice-involved Veterans and reduce barriers to VA care. Veterans Justice Outreach works with Veterans in jails and treatment courts, while Health Care for Re-entry Veterans supports Veterans leaving prison. That federal structure reinforces the principle that justice involvement should trigger appropriate assessment and reentry coordination rather than erase military service or automatically define the Veteran’s future housing pathway.

Housing as the Transitional Objective

The purpose of transitional housing is ultimately to leave transitional housing. GPD should be evaluated by whether it helps Veterans progress toward safe permanent housing and the conditions necessary to sustain it. Depending on the individual, that can include income or benefits, healthcare continuity, employment or education, documentation, landlord navigation, transportation, and practical support after placement.

HUD-VASH illustrates the distinction between transitional and permanent housing resources. VA describes HUD-VASH as a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development that combines a Housing Choice Voucher with VA case management and supportive services. For an eligible Veteran who has reached the point where permanent housing is appropriate, the transitional system should facilitate that movement rather than make institutional adaptation an end in itself.

The same principle applies to employment and independence. VA’s Veteran Readiness and Employment program can provide eligible Veterans with service-connected disabilities support for training, job placement, reemployment, self-employment, and independent living. Transitional housing is most effective when it connects the Veteran to these existing systems rather than treating shelter residence as the principal service outcome.

A Standard for the Remainder of This Report

Part 2 establishes a general standard that carries through the Borden Avenue Report 2026: individualized transition. Veterans should be identified accurately, screened for applicable federal resources, matched to the appropriate level of transitional support, and assisted in maintaining existing VA relationships. The service model should build on the Veteran’s strengths while addressing the specific barrier to permanent housing.



Parts 3 and 4 address populations requiring more focused analysis, including vulnerable Veterans and women Veterans. Those issues are important, but they should be understood within the broader framework established here: Veteran homelessness is a housing condition experienced by individuals with different histories and needs, not a single clinical identity. The objective of the system is not to manage homelessness indefinitely. It is to end the Veteran’s homelessness and support sustainable participation in the community.