Specially Adaptive Housing Grants - Vets w/ALS - Available

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Specially Adaptive Housing Grants Now Automatically Available to Veterans, Servicemembers Living with ALS

Veterans and active-duty military personnel with service-connected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, are now presumed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) to medically eligible for grants up to $67,555 to build, buy or adapt a home to meet their unique needs.

Grants are also available to help eligible individuals purchase adapted homes or pay down mortgages on homes that are already adapted. USDVA estimates this change will save approximately 12 months in the overall process of a Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide a barrier-free living environment that affords a level of independent living that the veteran or servicemember may not otherwise enjoy.

A scientific study done nearly a decade ago found that veterans who served in Gulf War combat zones in 1990 and 1991 were nearly twice as likely to develop ALS as veterans not deployed to the Gulf. The study also reported that the incidence of ALS was especially high among deployed Air Force personnel, who were 2.7 times more likely to develop the disease than non-deployed Air Force personnel.

In 2008, USDVA established a presumption of service connection for ALS for any veteran who develops the disease at any time after separation from service, making them eligible for monthly USDVA disability compensation benefits. USDVA amended its disability rating scale in January 2012 to assign a 100-percent disability evaluation for any veteran who has service-connected ALS.

ALS is a rapidly progressive, totally debilitating, and irreversible motor neuron disease that results in muscle weakness leading to a wide range of serious disabilities, including impaired mobility. USDVA adapted its rules so veterans with service-connected ALS no longer have to file multiple claims for increased benefits as their condition progresses. Prior to the new regulatory change, many veterans and servicemembers who were rated by USDVA for service­ connected ALS, but who did not yet have symptoms debilitating enough to affect their mobility to the degree required for grant eligibility, were unable to begin the process of modifying their homes to accommodate their often rapidly progressing conditions.

For more information, visit: http://benefits.va.gov/homeloans/adaptedhousing.asp.