HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing, Case Management to Nearly 100 Homeless Veterans

HUD, VA TO PROVIDE PERMANENT HOUSING, CASE MANAGEMENT 

 TO NEARLY 100 HOMELESS VETERANS  

Funding part of Obama Administration plan to end Veteran homelessness 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced today that HUD will provide nearly $1 million to public housing authorities in the District of Columbia, Tallahassee, Fla., and Providence, R.I. to supply permanent housing and case management for nearly 100 homeless veterans in America. The funding is provided through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) funding to support homeless veterans.  

HUD-VASH is a coordinated effort by HUD, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and local housing authorities to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. 

“Though they served and sacrificed so much for our country, too many of our Veterans find themselves on the streets and in homeless shelters,” HUD Secretary Donovan.  “These vouchers continue to get more of our Veterans off the streets and out of homeless shelters into permanent housing.” 

“With this announcement nearly 100 Veterans who have been homeless will find a safe place to live,” said Secretary Shinseki.  “VA will provide dedicated staff to help Veterans living in this housing to navigate to better health, emotional stability, and in some cases, better opportunities to return to employment. VA remains a committed partner with HUD to eliminate homelessness among Veterans.” 

The grants announced today are part of a $275 million investment to support the housing needs of homeless Veterans. With today’s announcement, HUD will have funded 37,540 housing vouchers for homeless Veterans nationwide since 2008.  VA Medical Centers provide supportive services and case management to eligible homeless Veterans. 

The PHAs receiving the awards today submitted applications last winter for the project-based voucher competition that HUD announced last September for housing authorities with HUD-VASH  

vouchers received in 2008, 2009 or 2010.  In June 2011, HUD and VA announced $5.4 million to public housing authorities to supply vouchers that are paired with VA case management for 676 homeless veterans under this competition.  The competition was originally funded through money set-aside from the FY 2010 HUD-VASH allocation.  However, in order to fund additional applications that received high scores through HUD and VA’s review process, HUD made available a portion of the FY 2011 HUD-VASH allocation for these applications.  

Under HUD’s project-based voucher program, housing authorities can assign voucher assistance to specific housing units. These vouchers will enable homeless Veterans to access affordable housing with an array of supportive services.  

This funding to local housing authorities is part of the Obama Administration’s strategy to end Veteran and long-term chronic homelessness by 2015.  Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness serves as a roadmap for how the federal government will work with state and local agreements to confront the root causes of homelessness, especially among former servicemen and women.  

Veterans are referred to the public housing authority for these vouchers, based upon a variety of factors, most importantly the need for and ability to benefit from supportive housing.  Supportive housing includes both financial help the voucher provides and the comprehensive case management that VAMC staff provides.

Veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. VA offers eligible homeless veterans clinical and supportive services through its medical centers across the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico. 

###

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and  transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

VA is the federal government’s second-largest cabinet office.  Secretary Shinseki has outlined three key priorities for the department: increase Veteran access to VA services and benefits, eliminate the disability claims backlog, and end Veteran homelessness.  VA provides health care to more than 6 million people each year, in 91 million outpatient visits and 960,000 hospitalizations.  VA provides more than $58 billion annually in disability pay and pensions to 4.5 million Americans, $10 billion in educational assistance, $1 billion for home loans and $2.6 billion for life insurance. More information about VA is available at www.va.gov.