The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance. The VA also provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
Care Not Cash was a San Francisco ballot measure approved by the voters in November 2002. Primarily sponsored by Gavin Newsom, then a San Francisco supervisor, it was designed to cut the money given in the General Assistance programs to homeless people in exchange for shelters and other forms of services. The major intent of this measure was to prevent the cash grants given to be used for purchasing drugs and alcohol, and to strongly encourage homeless people to enter shelters or housing and obtain counseling and other services.
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) — an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a 17-member board of directors is a resource and technical assistance center for some community-based service providers and local, state and federal agencies that provide emergency and supportive housing, food, health services, job training and placement assistance, legal aid and case management support for homeless veterans.
Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States. It was developed by different professional academics and US governmental departments that supported housing. Supportive housing is widely believed to work well for those who face the most complex challenges—individuals and families confronted with homelessness and who also have very low incomes and/or serious, persistent issues that may include substance use disorders, mental health, HIV/AIDS, chronic illness, diverse disabilities or other serious challenges to stable housing.
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is responsible for administering the department's programs that provide financial and other forms of assistance to veterans, their dependents, and survivors. Major benefits include Veterans' compensation, Veterans' pension, survivors' benefits, rehabilitation and employment assistance, education assistance, home loan guaranties, and life insurance coverage.
From 1948 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified human subject research at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. A small portion of these studies were directed at psychochemical warfare and grouped under the prosaic title of the "Medical Research Volunteer Program" (1956–1975). The MRVP was also driven by intelligence requirements and the need for new and more effective interrogation techniques.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a prominent veterans' service organization in the United States, was established in 1946 to serve the needs of disabled veterans. With 33 chapters and 70 National Service Offices across the US and Puerto Rico, the organization is headquartered in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. In 1946, a group of service members who returned home from World War II with spinal cord injuries established the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The organization was created to allow its members, veterans of the armed forces living with spinal cord injuries or diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to live with independence, dignity, and as productive members of society.
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal charter by Congress in 1932. It currently has over 1 million members. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, it is outside the purview of – and therefore not rated by – Charity Navigator. DAV's Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 31–0263158.
Endeavors, formerly known as Family Endeavors, is a non-profit organization that provides programs and services towards community, disaster relief, employment, housing, mental health, and veteran family services in the United States.
Compass Family Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in San Francisco, California, that provides a wide variety of human services to homeless and at-risk of homelessness families. In 2019, they served 6,000 parents and children. Its services include intake and referral to shelter, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and childcare—in addition to a broad spectrum of counseling, parenting education, prevention, and support services.
The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) is the department of the Illinois state government that assists veterans and their families in navigating the system of federal state and local resources and benefits, provides long-term health care for eligible veterans, and helps veterans address education, mental health, housing, employment, and other challenges.
The San Francisco VA Medical Center, also called the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center or the SFVAMC, is a Veterans Affairs medical center, located in San Francisco. The main facility is on 42nd Avenue and Clement Street at the former Fort Miley Military Reservation in the Richmond District. Fort Miley is located south of the Golden Gate and west of the San Francisco Presidio, on Point Lobos surrounded by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Freedom Service Dogs is a Denver, Colorado–based charitable organization devoted to rescuing dogs and training them as service dogs for people with disabilities that include multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spinal-cord injury, PTSD, and more. The organisation is notable for its activities in providing assistance dogs to US veterans - one of the few such services that uses only rescued dogs.
Conard House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the SoMa arts district of San Francisco, working to support adults living with serious mental health and medical conditions. The organization's restated mission is "to empower people who live and work on the margins of society."
HOPE Atlanta, the programs of Travelers Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta, is a non-profit organization that has served the metro-Atlanta area for 112 years. Since its inception in 1900, the organization has provided services to over one million people in need throughout the counties surrounding Atlanta, Georgia.
Veterans Inc. is a national, non-governmental, and non-profit organization, which was founded in 1990. It has been devoted to the cause of "providing services to veterans in need and their families across New England" by giving shelter to honorably-served veterans who have lost their homes and suffer from other possible disabilities. The organization is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Homeless veterans are persons who have served in the armed forces who are homeless or living without access to secure and appropriate accommodation.
Community Housing Partnership is a nonprofit organization in San Francisco, California, that provides housing, job training and other services to people formerly living in homelessness. Founded in 1990, it owns and operates 14 residential buildings and collaborates with other organizations in its goals.
Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) was established by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2011 to create public-private partnerships to rapidly re-house homeless Veteran families and prevent homelessness for very low-income Veterans at imminent risk due to a housing crisis. SSVF has been led since its inception by John Kuhn, the previous VA National Director of Homeless Evaluation.
