The Department of Veterans Affairs is restoring practical assistance that can help homeless veterans remain connected to doctors, housing officials, employers and family members.
Under a newly announced rule, eligible veterans may receive smartphones, tablets, disposable phones, service plans and transportation support.
For veterans living on the street, losing contact with an outreach worker can mean losing a housing opportunity or missing a critical medical appointment. A simple phone and a ride can make the difference between entering a program and remaining stranded outside it.
“It’s not uncommon for veterans to be qualified into programs, but then for the outreach worker to struggle to find them for weeks,” said Kathryn Monet, CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
“That is a big and seemingly preventable struggle. Surely there should be a way if we can find people to get them the benefits that they’re entitled to.”
The new rule restores benefits previously offered through a COVID era program. Veterans qualify when they would be “unable to maintain contact” with VA services without the assistance, ensuring resources are directed toward those who genuinely need help staying connected.
The authority comes from the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The broad law addresses VA health care, benefits and support programs, including services for veterans who do not have permanent housing.
The law also permits the VA to provide basic items needed for “safety and survival,” including food, clothing and blankets. According to the notice, these services and resources will remain available to eligible veterans through Sept. 30, 2027.
Transportation assistance may also be provided “as necessary” through public transit vouchers or contracted rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. The goal is to help homeless veterans reach medical appointments, court hearings, grocery stores, legal service meetings and housing placement appointments.
The rideshare component has already proved its value on a large scale. During the pandemic, more than 44,000 veterans used the program for 494,000 rides, demonstrating that transportation is not some minor convenience when veterans are trying to rebuild stable lives.
Monet said the new law gives the VA the same flexible authority and funding that had been available during the pandemic.
She said it “took way too long” to restore resources that coalition officials believe address “logistical problems that stand between a veteran and available housing,” including transportation to appointments and reliable communication with landlords.
“It really is an authority that was designed to close some of the gaps that you see when you’re out doing outreach to veterans,” Monet said. Those gaps can look small from inside a federal office, but they become enormous for someone without a car, an address or a working telephone.
There is no single homelessness figure accepted by every veterans advocate, although federal data provide a useful national picture.
The latest Department of Housing and Urban Development point in time count identified 32,495 homeless veterans on one night in January 2025.
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans noted that the figure was the lowest recorded since 2009.
Even so, veterans represented about 5 percent of all adults experiencing homelessness that night, roughly matching their share of the overall United States population.
The VA reported permanently housing 51,936 veterans nationwide during calendar year 2025.
That progress matters, but the remaining numbers show why officials cannot afford to let basic communication and transportation failures block veterans from housing that is already available.
Phones can also become lifesaving equipment during hurricanes, floods, wildfires and sudden weather events. Emergency alerts that most Americans take for granted may never reach an unsheltered veteran who has no television, dependable internet connection or permanent address.
“In a hurricane, when you have a cell phone, you get an alert saying ‘The weather’s gonna change, go inside.’ Or you see it on the TV. But if you’re an unsheltered veteran and you’re out in a ravine in Arizona, you might not know that the weather’s gonna change, and the water can be really detrimental,” Monet said.
“There are some basic common sense things, but there are also these other extremes when you think about the weather disasters and what it really means to be able to be in touch with the world around you.”
After years of bureaucratic delay, restoring these tools gives outreach teams a better chance to connect veterans with the assistance they earned through service.
