 for specially adapted housing at the VA. And we're here to discuss a housing grant available to eligible disabled veterans. Jay, thank you so much for joining me. Thanks Matt, that's a, my drill instructor used to call me Latoya, it's Latona. And... Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. You're not the only, it's not a problem. Everybody's... Okay, good. Well, if I'm in the company of a drill instructor then I'm doing all right, right? So Jay, tell us, what is the VA specially adapted housing program? Yeah, thanks. First of all, thanks for having me on the show. And thanks for all the great work that you and DAV does for our veterans. It's greatly appreciated. The VA specially adapted housing program provides grants to pay for physical adaptations to the homes of eligible veterans. The intent of the grants is to provide an audience of life for our most severely disabled veterans, as well as their families and their caregivers. How the grants were applied and what adaptations are delivered is unique to each situation. So we work closely with the veteran and the contractor that they select to tailor the approach and design the features to meet the individual veteran's needs. And so how does the VA determine who is eligible for these grants? Well, eligibility for an SAH grant or any of the other adaptation grants within the VA begins with the nature and the degree of the veteran's service-connected disability. So this is determined by VA's compensation service. A few examples of qualifying conditions might be a loss of both legs or blindness in both eyes as a result of military service. There could also be certain elements that have a qualifying factor for the grants such as ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, which is presumptively service-connected. So there are a number of conditions that could be qualifying and the specific criteria for the eligibility are spelled out on our webpage that veterans can access as well. And that webpage is in our description for sure, so veterans can check that out. And we talked about a little different types of assistance available under the SAH program. Can you briefly explain what the three grants are and what the differences are? Sure, yeah. We have three different grants that are offered through the especially adapted housing program. The specially adapted housing grant itself and the special housing adaptations grant are two different grants and they provide different levels of funding based upon the disability rating that's awarded by the VA. These grants provide up to $100,000 to help a veteran adapt a home that they currently own or purchase or build an adapted home that meets their specific needs. And then we also have what's called the temporary residence adaptation grant which enabled as a veteran to adapt the home of a family member if they're living there temporarily. Now, I'd also like to say too that in addition to these SAH grants, the VA can also provide housing adaptations through eligible veterans through two different programs. The veteran right in as an employment program and the home improvements and structural alterations grant or HISA. These fall outside of SAH, but still within VA. And again, veterans can find out more about those by going to the VA.gov website, entering SAH, VR and E or HISA into the search box in the upper right-handed corner of the landing page. Great, and these grants are definitely used for as we say adapting a home. So making walls bigger for wheelchair-bound folks, maybe adapting a bathroom or some of the examples. What ways can veterans apply and use these SAH grants? Well, the easiest way to apply is to submit an application by logging into e-benefits and submitting the application electronically if the veteran has an e-benefits account. Veterans can also submit a paper application though by mailing it into the VA or dropping it off with their veterans benefits representative at the local VA medical center. Or they can also have their veteran service officer representing them submit the application on their behalf. And that information can also be found on our website as well. Excellent, thanks Jay. Is there anything else you'd like our audience to know about the specially adapted housing program at VA? Definitely, yeah. Home remodeling can be a messy business if you've had that done already. So we would ask that veterans and their families and caregivers be prepared for that process. Once they've identified a contractor and selected who's going to do the work because the VA does not direct who they use, they can choose their own contractor. Once they do that, if any disagreements arise along the way, their assigned SAH agent can advocate on their behalf to help resolve those issues. VA is not a party to the contract they have. So pick someone that you like and trust and get multiple bids. I'd also like to say, yeah, I'd also like to say, well quickly, level of experience and accessible design varies. So try to find a contractor who's actually done some of this work before and is familiar with accessible design and construction. Awesome, thanks for your time today, Jay. And just to remind the folks out there, DAV benefits advocates have experience with applying for these types of grants. To speak with one, you can go to DAV.org and click find an office in the upper right-hand corner. Again, if you wanna learn a little more about this program, we have the link in the description to the VA website. Jay, thank you so much for your time.