VA home grants
The VA grants that pay for home access work
VA sets the maximum for each grant every year and decides who qualifies. Ask your VSO or VA for the current figure before you plan around one.
Specially Adapted Housing (SAH)
For certain permanent, service-connected disabilities
Pays to build, buy or change a home
Ramps, roll-in showers, wider doors and halls
Special Home Adaptation (SHA)
For a different set of service-connected disabilities
Pays for changes to a home you or your family own
Bathroom and entry changes are common
Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA)
For a family member's home while you stay there
Goes with SAH or SHA eligibility
VA sets the maximum each year
Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA)
For changes a doctor says you need
A ramp, a bathroom fix, a wider door
Usually takes a prescription from your doctor
The path
From your VSO to a finished ramp
You apply with VA and your VSO helps. We join where the building starts.
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Step 1: Call your VSO
A Veterans Service Officer files claims and grant applications for veterans, usually at no charge. The county, the VFW and the American Legion all have one.
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Step 2: Apply with VA
Your VSO helps you apply. We aren't VA and we don't apply for you. VA decides who qualifies.
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Step 3: Site walk with your VSO
We measure and sketch what you need. Your VSO hears what we'll write down.
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Step 4: An estimate VA can read
Itemized: each job, material and permit on its own line, so VA's agent can compare it with what you were approved for.
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Step 5: VA approves the plan
VA may send an agent to review it, and may ask for changes. We revise the estimate the same day we hear.
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Step 6: We build
The work follows the approved plan. If something behind a wall changes it, we stop and write it down before going on.
Bring your VSO
Bring your VSO to the first site walk
It's the shortest way to an estimate VA approves.
Your VSO knows what VA asks for. We know what a ramp or a shower takes to build. Standing in the same room, we can write one scope instead of two that don't match.
No VSO yet? Ask us and we'll tell you where to find one near you.
What to bring
Your VSO's name and number
Your VA rating letter, if you have one
A note from your doctor or therapist
Photos of the entry and the bathroom
Questions
About the grants and the work
Can you tell me if I qualify?
No. VA decides, and your VSO can tell you what to expect. We build whatever you're approved for.
Does VA pay you directly?
How and when the money moves is part of your approval, and your VSO can explain it. We write the payment schedule into your contract before we start.
What if the grant doesn't cover everything?
The estimate lists each job on its own line, so you can choose what the grant pays for and what you do now or later.
Can my family's home be changed with SAH or SHA?
In some cases, yes. TRA is written for staying with family. Your VSO can tell you which one fits.
What if my application changes the plan?
We rewrite the estimate and the drawing. You see both before anything is ordered.
Have your VSO's number?
Call or text and we'll set a site walk when they can come.