7 Grants for Disabled Veterans

Grants for Disabled Veterans

The US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) was established to fulfill Lincoln’s promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.”

The VA does this through serving and honoring men and women discharged from their duties from the US Armed Forces. According to reports by the VA, the VA Disability Rates witnessed a 1.3% rise in cost-of-living expenses, based on COLA calculations.

To put it in simple words, a veteran with 50% disability and their spouse and child received US$ 1,056.04 per month. This means an increase of US$ 29.68 every month.

VA Loans and Grants for Disabled Veterans

Let’s check out the list of grants for disabled veterans received in the US:

1 – HISA Grant for Veterans With or Without A Service-Connected Disability

The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant is provided to veterans to adapt their homes to their disabilities. This grant is usually offered to disabled veterans even if they did not suffer the disabling injury away from duty.

Using this grant, veterans can make “medically necessary” alterations and improvements to their homes and make them more disabled-friendly.

Some of the ways that a veteran can use the HISA grant include:

• Modifying entrances and exits to make them more accessible
• Installing “essential lavatory and sanitary facilities” like roll-in shower and walk-in tub
• Improving driveways and entrance paths
• Adding or improving accessibility to the kitchen, bathroom sinks, etc.
• Improving or upgrading mechanical and/or electrical systems at home to accommodate medical equipment easily

To be eligible for the HISA Grants for Veterans With or Without Service-Connected Disability, you should be a:

• Veteran or serviceman with service-related conditions
• Veterans with non-service related conditions that are rated with 50% or more disability

If you qualify for this grant, you are liable to receive up to US$ 6,800 at a time.

2 – Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant

The VA Specially Adapted Housing grant is aimed to help veterans living “independently in a barrier-free environment” and is granted to those with qualifying service-connected medical issues.

Recipients of this grant can use the funds to:

• Adapt an existing home
• Adopt a family member’s home for a veteran to live in
• Adapt a home intended for purchase by the veteran or their family member
• Buy their own home

Eligibility criteria of disability for this grant include:

• Lack of vision in both eyes with 20/20 acuity or less, or
• Loss of both hands, or
• Loss of use of both hands, or
• Certain severe burn injuries, or
• Certain severe respiratory injuries

To know the exact eligibility criteria for the SAH grant we request you to contact your nearest VA office or call the VA hotline at 1-800-827-1000.

3 – Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) Grant

The VA offers the Temporary Residence Adaption (TRA) grant to disabled veterans and service members who are currently living with a family member.

This grant aims to help with the expenses of temporary modification to the home to meet the disability requirements of the disabled veteran.

These grants are provided additional to the total grant funds available for a single applicant however, TRA grants are deducted from “one of the three usages available to the Veteran or service member”.

To learn more about the eligibility and application process for the TRA grant, it is recommended to access the official US VA website, visit the nearest VA office or call the VA hotline at 1-800-827-1000.

4 – VA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization

The Department of Veteran Affairs also offers potential assistance to disabled veterans who are now business owners, especially if they qualify as being economically disadvantaged.

This grant for disabled veterans is offered through the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business (OSDBU) Program. This grant is aimed at helping these businesses secure as many government contracts as possible.

To know more about this grant for disabled veterans, you should register at the OSDBU office closest to you. Once they verify your business, it will be added to their directory of small businesses and used to secure government contracts.

5 – VA Small Business Grants

This grant for disabled veterans and non-disabled veterans is aimed at non-profit organizations. This VA grant helps disabled military veterans to get their enterprises up and running. This is not a loan but a grant; hence the veteran is not expected to pay back the grant amount in any way or form. However, it does require strict compliance on your part.

To learn more about this, you should visit your closest VA office or call the VA hotline number at 1-800-827-1000.

6 – Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business Program

This is yet another veteran assistance program offered by VA to disabled veterans. It is quite similar to VA’s OSDBU program and provides businesses owned by disabled and other veterans with opportunities to secure profitable contracts.

The federal government furbishes around 3% of its contracting money to set aside contracts for businesses owned by disabled veterans. Although these are not direct grants, they help grow the business effectively.

Similar to OSDBU, you can apply for verification with the program and get added to their directory, which is used while considering the allocation of contracts to small, veteran-owned enterprises.

To know the specifics of eligibility criteria and the application process, it is recommended to visit your closest VA office or visit their official website.

7 – VA Medical Bills Assistance Programs

Veterans suffering from service-connected injuries, and even veterans with disabilities incurred off-duty, can apply for this grant which helps them pay off medical bills.

You may have to co-pay for healthcare, depending on the specific condition and level of disability but the remaining bulk of the medical bill is borne by the VA department.

To be eligible for this grant for disabled veterans, you should fulfill the military service requirements and undergo an income verification process. If you already have a private health insurance policy, then you may be exempt from co-paying the bills completely.

Visit the official US Department of Veteran Affairs website or the nearest VA office close to you for additional information on eligibility and the application process.

Conclusion

The US federal government assists veterans in numerous ways. Feel free to browse for more such grant opportunities on our website.

References

https://www.va.gov/health-care/

http://freegrantsforveterans.org/

http://freegrantsforveterans.org

https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/

https://www.nav.com/blog/

https://militarybenefits.info/va-disability-rates

https://militarybenefits.info/grants-for-veterans

See Also

Grants for Veterans in Texas

Free Dental Implants for Veterans

VA Loan Rates