VA’s Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Program helps disabled Veterans

VA’s Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program helps Veterans with disabilities, including those with spinal cord injuries and degenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Created in 1948, the SAH program administers grant funding to eligible Veterans and service members with certain severe, service-connected disabilities, such as the loss of use of a limb, loss of limb or blindness. The grant program helps disabled Veterans to buy or build a permanent home to provide independent living, adapt a home they or their family member already own or adapt a home where they are temporarily living. SAH issued 2,352 grants totaling more than $147 million in 2024.

When a Veteran’s grant application is approved, the SAH team works closely with them to ensure all home improvements meet their needs. In recent years, SAH grant eligibility expanded to include Veterans with degenerative conditions that were caused or worsened by their military service. Studies show that Veterans are diagnosed at higher rates than non-Veterans with some degenerative conditions, like Parkinson’s and ALS.

SAH can also be used by Veterans and service members living internationally. So, if a severely disabled Veteran applies for a SAH grant to buy, build or renovate a permanent home in Europe, Asia or anywhere else in the world, the SAH team will support them every step of the way. Currently, 48 active international cases are supported, including Veterans living in Finland and Germany. When the SAH team works on projects overseas, they often overcome foreign challenges, currency exchange rates, time zone differences and language barriers, but the team remains committed to honoring the service of these most deserving disabled Veterans and service members.

In the Philippines, one severely-disabled Veteran was recently approved for an SAH grant and the team coordinated with the home builder he selected. Throughout the construction process, they worked with the Veteran and his family to ensure the newly constructed house met all of his needs. After his new home was built, his family no longer had to carry him down two flights of stairs, and his quality of life greatly improved.

Since the program’s inception 77 years ago, more than 53,500 SAH grants have been awarded, totaling $2.2 billion. These transformative enhancements have improved thousands of Veterans’ lives. These improved adaptations have increased mobility in their homes, expanded their access to community resources and enabled them to connect more with family and friends, fostering a sense of belonging and everyday normalcy in their lives.

To learn more about the specially adapted housing grants for Veterans, visit the housing assistance website online or go to VA.gov/Housing-Assistance/Disability-Housing-grants.