More disabled veterans in SLO County can now get critical housing assistance. Here’s how

More disabled veterans will get access to expanded housing assistance thanks to a long-sought policy change backed by Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal.

On Thursday, the Biden-Harris administration announced a new expansion of benefits by increasing the income eligibility threshold for veterans looking to get housing assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The threshold has been raised from 50% of the area median income to 80%.

This mandatory increase means that more veterans than ever can make use of HUD’s Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing program, also known as HUD-VASH. The HUD-VASH program provides housing vouchers and intensive case management to homeless veterans, while circumventing the long wait times that typically come with housing vouchers.

This program has experienced success in San Luis Obispo County, which has seen the number of veterans experiencing unsheltered homelessness fall from 144 people in 2019 to roughly 46 in 2024, according to Point-in-Time Count data.

Carbajal, a Santa Barbara Democrat and former U.S. Marine, has supported expanding the HUD-VASH income limit since 2017, when he and Pennsylvania Rep. Lloyd Smucker first introduced the Home for the Brave Act.

That piece of legislation was intended to raise the benefit amount veterans and their families can receive while not counting that assistance as income, which can price some veterans out of eligibility for other HUD-VASH benefits.

“It is wrong to deny veterans access to housing assistance programs due to disability benefits they receive for service-related injury or illness,” Carbajal said in a news release on the policy. “I am proud to see the Biden-Harris Administration agree and implement my bill and other policies to expand access to housing for veterans.”

Prior to the policy change, financial benefits for service-connected disabilities were counted as income when determining HUD program eligibility.

On average, a veteran filing disability claims with the VA received around $20,600 in 2022, according to the release.

In its most recent pass through Congress, Carbajal’s bill was endorsed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, National Coalition for the Homeless and the Military Officers Association of America.

It was also endorsed in 2023 by several San Luis Obispo County leaders in veteran services and housing aid, including Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo CEO Elizabeth “Biz” Steinberg, CAPSLO Supportive Services for Veteran Families program manager Brandy Graham and San Luis Obispo County veteran services officer Morgan Boyd.

“This change will make housing more affordable and accessible on the Central Coast and across the country, and support those who stepped up to defend our nation by ending this housing discrimination against our disabled veterans,” Carbajal said in the release.