The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme is an £8 million revenue grant programme designed to tackle homelessness among Armed Forces veterans. The funding will address the complex issues faced by some homeless veterans while making sure they have access to accommodation.
Organisations can bid for a revenue grant of up £1.5 million over 2 years to provide wraparound support services for issues such as mental health. Grants can cover most costs associated with a project or activity including people’s time, costs of delivering work online or buying/hiring equipment.
It is anticipated that most grants will cover the cost of staffing. This could be through directly employed staff or through contracts/partnership agreements with experienced providers.
Under this new programme, the Trust will award grants on behalf of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) to projects that will provide specialist care in veterans’ accommodation. By providing specialised support services, the Fund will give veterans a greater chance of leading a stable, healthy life so that they don’t return to being homeless in the future.
The funding is expected to provide services for over 900 supported housing places across the UK, supporting veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The Trust is encouraging charities, housing associations and registered social housing providers to apply for a 2-year grant. A small number of significant grants are expected to be awarded under the programme. To be successful, applications should clearly demonstrate:
o That you have considerable experience in providing support to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
o That your project is adaptable to the needs of veterans, including veterans with high, medium and low-level support needs, and
o That your project will deliver sustainable outcomes for the veterans accessing them, so that they don’t return to being homeless in future.
It is also vital that projects are collaborative - working with others to meet the needs of veterans. Finally, you will need to show how you would work with Op FORTITUDE - the Government’s new central referral pathway for homeless veterans and veterans at risk of homelessness.
Funding is not available for:
o Activities or services that can be funded through rent or housing benefits.
o Activities that duplicate statutory NHS or state provision (though short-term support can be given to veterans e.g., access to addiction treatment).
o Capital projects for creating additional bed spaces.
o Endowments (to provide a source of income).
o Excessive management or professional fees or contingency costs.
o Fundraising costs, including organising fundraising events and activities.
o Investments.
o Making grants or donations of money or items of value to individuals or families.
o Paying for ongoing costs of existing partnership activity.
o Projects, activities or services that the state has a legal obligation to provide.
o Refurbishment costs of existing facilities.
o Repeat or regular projects that require a source of uncommitted funding.
o Replacing existing grants and aid from Government, local authorities or a similar statutory body.
o Retrospective funding for projects that have already started or taken place before the decision is made on a grant, or
o Where funding only benefits one person.
A prospectus, guidance, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and an application form is available on the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust website. Further information about the programme can also be found on the GOV.UK website.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 22nd May 2023. Successful applicants are expected to be notified by the beginning of July 2023, while projects should commence by the beginning of September 2023.
