You must be enrolled in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system (or qualify based on one of the exceptions in the law). Go to "Basic Medical Benefits for Veterans" to see the program requirements.
VA
Generally, in order to receive VA benefits and services the Veteran/Servicemember's character of discharge or service must be under other than dishonorable conditions (e.g., honorable, under honorable conditions, general). However, individuals receiving undesirable, bad conduct, and other types of dishonorable discharges may qualify for VA benefits depending on a determination made by VA.
In addition to basic eligibility criteria for care in the VA healthcare system, the Veteran must:
If the Veteran's circumstance cannot be accommodated by the program, alternative services must be considered within the medical centers, Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), or Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) mental health continuum of care and appropriate alternate treatment arrangements made.
A single screening determines whether a Veteran is appropriate for admission to any of the facility's MH RRTPs. To facilitate access, screenings are conducted on all normal business days. Given the co-morbid disorders typical of a Veteran being screened for residential services, consideration needs to be given to which MH RRTP provides the "best" fit, rather than the ideal match.
Domiciliary Care has some eligibility rules of its own. You must meet one of these criteria:
Your annual income must not exceed the maximum annual Improved Disability VA Pension Rate
OR
VA must determine that you have no adequate means of support
You can find the special eligibility rules for Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment (Domiciliary Care) in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Here are the references: Title 38, CFR 17.46, 17.47, and 17.48. They're available online at either of these websites:
To get help now, please visit VA's Mental Health homepage.
For general information about residential services for homeless Veterans, visit VA's Homeless Veterans page.
For information about Substance Use Disorder programs, including residential program locations, use VA's Substance Use Disorder Program Locator tool.
If you have questions:
To apply for VA benefits and services, view your benefit status, and many more services go to www.va.gov and either logon with your eBenefits sign on or use www.Logon.gov to enroll. VA.gov is a one-stop source for information on Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and services. Veterans, service members and their family members can conduct self-service transactions such as checking compensation and pension claim status information, enrolling in GI Bill, and obtaining copies of civil service preference letters, military records (DD214), and other personal information. For further information visit the VA.gov website.