The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today a $30 million award for nonprofit agencies dealing with homeless veterans in the Los Angeles area.

VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald said the grant program is effective “because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to effectively address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some veterans and their families to remain stably housed.”

The three-year grant will go toward private, nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income veteran families living in — or transitioning to — permanent housing.

“With the addition of these crucial resources, communities across the country continue an historic drive to prevent and end homelessness among veterans,” said Matthew Doherty, acting executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

He added that the program “gives veterans and their families the rapid assistance they need to remain in permanent housing or get back into permanent housing as quickly as possible.”

Los Angeles County has more than 4,200 homeless veterans, the most in the nation. Mayor Eric Garcetti has promised to house every homeless veteran in the city by the end of the year, part of a national effort led by the Obama administration to get those who served off the streets.