BRIEF: Goodwill receives two grants for veterans

Retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Sterling R. Cale, 90-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor, takes a moment in the shrine room of the USS Arizona Memorial to honor the 1,177 service members who lost their lives during the attack on the USS Arizona Dec. 7, 1941. Cale along with active duty military and civilian leaders gathered at the USS Arizona Memorial May 27, 2012, for the USS Arizona Memorial 50th anniversary commemoration ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii. The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1962. Since its construction, the memorial has stood as a place to remember the tragedy, and honor the dead.

Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest announced that it has received two grants for for veterans.

On June 11, Goodwill was awarded Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Priority 1 Funding from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The total amount of the award is $2,962,562 over a 3-year period, starting October 1, 2014. Eleven new SSVF staff will be added to the downtown Spokane Goodwill administration to carry out the expanded work of the Priority 1 grant, targeting 165 high priority veterans.
On June 16, Goodwill received notice that Priority 2 SSVF funds have been renewed for an additional year in the amount of $1,342,613, effective October 1, 2014. This is a 10% increase over last year’s funding. Priority 2 funds are targeted to reach 325 veterans. Goodwill did not anticipate hearing about their Priority 2 renewal until late summer.

Goodwill launched its SSVF program in October 2013, in partnership with Volunteers of America and Transitions. The program has served more than 180 at-risk veterans since its launch. The goal of the SSVF Program is to provide housing stability to Veterans and Veteran Families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, according to a press release.

In January, the Veterans Administration (VA) announced Priority 1 funding availability for 76 communities with the highest need for SSVF services, based on current unmet service needs, levels of veteran homelessness, levels of veteran poverty, and the overall size of the veteran population. Under Priority 1, the VA committed to provide up to $300 million over a 3-year period to eligible entities in those 76 high priority communities. The City of Spokane was identified as one of the 76 Priority 1 communities.

All SSVF programs are required to provide the following supportive services:

Outreach services
Case management services
Assist participants to obtain VA benefits
Assist participants to obtain and coordinate the provision of other public benefits provided by Federal, State, or local agencies, or any eligible entity in the area served by the grantee (provided directly or through referral to partner agencies)