From:                                         Perkins, Patrice A. (KCVA)

Sent:                                           Friday, April 2, 2021 8:02 AM

Subject:                                     SSVF Program Update Friday April 2, 2021

Attachments:                          EHA and Vaccine Tracking Survey March 2021 Questions.pdf; Determinants of Veteran Homelessness.pdf

 

TOPICS:

NEW: Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) and COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking due by COB Thursday, April 8, 2021- document attached

NEW: Determinants of Veteran Homelessness- document attached

NEW: Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19

REGISTER: SSVF National Webinar - FY2019 Annual Report Review & Unannounced Standardized Veterans (USV) Outcomes, April 8, 2021 at 2:00pm EST

REMINDER: SAVE LIVES Act Regarding Vaccination Eligibility Signed into law March 24, 2021

REMINDER: SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards pre-recorded webinar

RESOURCE: Free Tax Prep for Veterans, Military & Families

 

 

NEW: Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) and COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking due by COB Thursday, April 8, 2021

The SSVF Program Office is requesting updated EHA data as well as COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking data for the month of March 2021 from all grantees. This information must be submitted through Survey Monkey by COB Thursday, April 8, 2021.  The survey questions are attached in this Program Update and the survey may be assessed through this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EHA_VaccineMarch. Please reach out to your Regional Coordinator if you do not receive the survey or have any questions.

 

 

NEW: Determinants of Veteran Homelessness

VA’s National Center on Homelessness among Veterans has compiled a summary of peer-reviewed articles on the causes of Veteran homelessness. Please see document attached for further information.

 

 

NEW: Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19

The CDC has issued a Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19 after determining that the evictions of tenants could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. More information may be assessed through this link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html

 

 

REGISTER: SSVF National Webinar - FY2019 Annual Report Review & Unannounced Standardized Veterans (USV) Outcomes, April 8, 2021 at 2:00pm EST

The April SSVF National Webinar will review the new SSVF Annual Report’s findings.  We will share new information of SSVF’s service trends, demographics, living situations at entry, destinations, and returns to homelessness.  In addition to this review, the Program Office will also review the SSVF “Secret Shopper” (USV - Unannounced Standardized Veterans Visits) outcomes.  The webinar will review the USV program, methodology, national results, and general recommendations.  We will also provide examples of individual grantee reports and how each SSVF Grantee will respond to their individual report findings.  There will be time for questions from participants regarding the SSVF Annual Report and USV report and findings.  Please register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5564302207096942606

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. 

 

 

REMINDER: SAVE LIVES Act Regarding Vaccination Eligibility Signed into law March 24, 2021

The Department of Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce the SAVE LIVES Act was signed into law on March 24, 2021.  This law provides the VA Medical Centers legal authority to provide COVID-19 vaccines to all Veterans, regardless of their VA health care enrollment status, as well as Veteran spouses, caregivers, and some beneficiaries.  Please follow the link to read more about this law and the allowances this action provides. SAVE LIVES Act allows VA to soon provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans, their spouses and caregivers

 

 

REMINDER: SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards pre-recorded webinar

In September 2020, the SSVF Program Office informed Grantees of the transition to a new cloud-based grants management system. The Program Office has since then presented a series of webinars that we will be offering as we complete the migration process into SmartSimple.  A pre-recorded webinar titled: “SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards” is now available and will explain how to add contacts to your current grant awards. This will enable the relevant staff to view the award in the system and also receive notifications from the Program Office.

 

Please note: The previous issue regarding the invite envelope button has been corrected. The link to access the webinar:“SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards”  is found here: https://youtu.be/oeCt3TuABgY

 

 

RESOURCE: Free Tax Prep for Veterans, Military & Families

As the tax deadline approaches (now extended to May 17), the SSVF Program Office would like to remind SSVF Grantees about a free resource to help Veterans with tax preparation.  The AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program aims to help the military community and others file their state and federal tax returns.  The Tax-Aide program is free and available (by appointment only) to all Veterans, Military personnel and their families regardless of age or AARP membership.  Please make referrals for tax prep supports as needed.  Follow this link to access AARP’s Tax-Aide Service: AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Service. To access additional information about Veterans filing taxes, VA’s Official Blog VAntage Point is available at: AARP, others offer free tax prep help to Veterans, military and families - VAntage Point

 

 

 

Regards,

 

SSVF Program Office