Which veterans in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program receive temporary financial assistance and why: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT

The VA Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program is one of the largest housing assistance programs in the US. One of the key components of this program is temporary financial assistance (TFA) which can be used for rent, security deposits, utilities, and other housing-related expenses. The objective of this paper was to identify characteristics of SSVF enrollees that are associated with receiving any TFA and the amount of TFA received. We conducted a mixed methods study which included a retrospective cohort study of Veterans who entered the SSVF program between 10/2015 and 9/2018 and interviews with 20 SSVF grantee employees. Important characteristics that were positively associated with TFA included African American race, female sex, having a spouse or partner, number of children, education, employment, monthly income, and receiving VA healthcare services. Factors negatively associated with receiving any TFA or the amount of TFA included older age, Medicaid insurance, previous homelessness, and a mental illness diagnosis. Interviews with grantee employees revealed that income-related factors were by far the most influential determinant of whether to give TFA and the amount of TFA to give Veterans enrolling in SSVF.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• VA
• financial assistance
• stable housing

Acknowledgements

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. This study was supported with funding from the VA Health Services Research and Development Service [I50HX001240 Center of Innovation – Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) 2.0 Center and IIR 17-029 (PI: Nelson)]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [grant number I01 HX002425].

Notes on contributors

Richard E. Nelson

Dr. Richard E. Nelson is an Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine and a Research Health Scientist at the Veterans Health Administration Salt Lake City's (VHASLC).

Thomas Byrne

Dr. Thomas Byrne is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Boston University and an investigator at the Bedford VA Health Care System.

Susan Zickmund

Dr. Susan Zickmund is a Research Scientist at the VHASLC and a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the Qualitative, Survey Measurement Core of the University of Utah.

Patrick Galyean

Mr. Patrick Galyean is a qualitative data analyst in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah.

Ying Suo

Ms. Ying Suo is a data manager in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah.

James Cook

Mr. James Cook is a data manager in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah.

Warren Pettey

Mr. Warren Pettey is a data scientist in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah.

Tania Velasquez

Ms. Tania Velasquez is a program manager at the VHALSC.

Tom Greene

Dr. Tom Greene is chief of the Division of Biostatistics in the Department of Population Health Sciences and a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah.

Lillian Gelberg

Dr. Lillian Gelberg is Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Stefan Kertesz

Dr. Stefan Kertesz is a Professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an Investigator at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Jack Tsai

Dr. Jack Tsai is Campus Dean and Professor of Public Health at UTHealth and Research Director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans.

Ann Elizabeth Montgomery

Dr. AnnElizabeth Montgomery is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health and an Investigator at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.