This
weekly update is targeted towards the SSVF Grantees and shared with
valuable partners for awareness.
September 29, 2023
NEWS: SSVF Not Impacted by Government Shutdown
NEW: FY23 Funds End Date Extended
to March 31, 2024, with UDPaaS Extension Activity Due
October 13, 2023
NEW: Homeless Prevention Services Update for FY24
NEW: Opportunity
for Bombas Socks for Veterans Due October 9, 2023
REGISTER: 2023 VA Permanent Housing
Conference – One Team Approach: Collaborating to End Homelessness Among
Veterans.
DUE: HMIS End of Year
Repository Upload
REMINDER:
Office Hours – CY 2023 Homelessness Goals: October 5, 2023
RESOURCE: Hiring
and Retention Practices for SSVF Grantees
NEWS: SSVF Not Impacted by Government
Shutdown
SSVF and grantee funding will not be impacted by a government
shutdown as we are already funded through advanced appropriations and
operations will continue.
NEW:
FY23 Funds End Date Extended to March 31, 2024, with UDPaaS
Extension Activity Due October 13, 2023
The
SSVF Program Office has extended the target end date for FY23 funds from
12/31/23 to 03/31/24. An extension request has been published in UDPaaS for completion.
All grantees
are expected to complete the activity to extend utilization of FY23 funds up to
03/31/2024. Please go into UDPaaS,
locate the activity under “My SSVF Tasks” and indicate “Yes” on the request to
extend FY23 spending. This task is due 10/13/2023.
Please
reach out to your Regional Coordinator if you have any
questions.
NEW: Homeless Prevention
Services Update for FY24
In April 2023, the SSVF Program
Office announced the plan to shift Rapid Rehousing prioritization back into
alignment starting October 2023. Due to the ongoing variances in grantee
spending plans and budget cycles, the Program
Office will be extending the Rapid Rehousing Waiver period to October 1, 2024. This
will allow grantees the flexibility to address the needs identified within
their service area. Despite the shift, Grantees may still be asked to
demonstrate how they will continue to prioritize Veterans experiencing literal
homelessness in their service area, to ensure resources are available for this
priority group.
SSVF’s
Homelessness Prevention assistance is intended to prevent Veteran families from
losing housing resulting in literal homelessness, it is not an eviction
prevention program. As Veteran households present for HP support, it will
be imperative that grantees conduct intentional Rapid Resolution conversations,
as not all who are losing their current housing will result in becoming
homeless. It is important to explore other safe and appropriate housing
options that may be available while they work on a pathway back to their
housing goal. Such Veterans may
be
enrolled under Stage 1 under Homelessness Prevention and provided Rapid
Resolution services and supports that would help them avoid literal
homelessness without the need for significant Temporary Financial Assistance.
Per the 2021 HP Companion Guide, Veterans may be enrolled under Stage 1 if they
indicate they anticipate becoming homeless in the next 30 days and grantees can
use Rapid Resolution and services such as legal assistance even if the Veteran
household does not qualify for or need more intensive financial supports.
As a reminder,
the SSVF Program Office released the updated HP screening tool in September of
2021, HP Screening Tool. The
SSVF Program Office will be reviewing HP Threshold scores submitted with your
FY24 Resolution to ensure that all grantees have reviewed and adjusted their
scores to ensure the needs of the community can be met with this extended
waiver.
Contact your
Regional Coordinator should you have any questions about this waiver extension.
NEW: Opportunity for Bombas Socks for Veterans Due October 9, 2023
VA is facilitating the
delivery of Bombas socks for Veterans experiencing
homelessness. If you are interested in receiving Bombas socks, please coordinate with your homeless programs
staff/voluntary services and complete the order form by October
9, 2023 (using
the Chrome Browser). Please refer to the attached document for product
information. Socks will be delivered to your location in early
November.
Good
News Stories
If you are interested in providing photos and
testimonials from Veterans and/or your organization (in a “Good News Story”),
please make the notation on the order form (in the applicable location) and
forward photos and testimonials to Leisa.Davis@va.gov. Our team will work
collaboratively with you to develop the “Good News Story”.
If
you need assistance, please contact us by October 9, 2023
and include the following information: Name, Email, Phone Number, Organization,
Address, Quantity Requested, Brief Description of the Issue and include “Bombas” in the subject line and attach the confirmation
email.
REGISTER:
2023 VA Permanent Housing Conference – One Team Approach: Collaborating to End
Homelessness Among Veterans.
The SSVF
Program Office, in partnership with the VA Homeless Program Office and national
HUD-VASH office, is excited to bring together practitioners from across the
country for the 2023 VA Permanent Housing Conference – One Team Approach:
Collaborating to End Homelessness Among Veterans.
All
Grantees should have received an invite and registration link to attend one of
the PHC locations: Dallas, TX November 14 & 15 or Atlanta,
GA December 5 & 6
This intensive,
2-day conference event will focus on various topics and solutions to
collectively end homelessness among Veterans. The conference will include
multiple plenary sessions, planning discussions and over 20 breakout topics for
attendees to choose from.
Each SSVF
grantee is allotted two (2) staff members to this event.
Registration ends on November
1, 2023 Please ensure you register for the
event and book your hotel (link for hotel information will come via email after
you register for the event)
Please contact
your SSVF Regional Coordinator if you have questions.
DUE: HMIS End of Year Repository Upload
SSVF Grantees must
complete the final upload cycle into the VA Repository. This upload will contain
the entire fiscal year data set. Client data should be October 1, 2022, to
September 30, 2023.
· Test upload cycle from September 25th to
September 29th is actively underway.
· October 2nd & 3rd are the only
business days you have to complete your first upload
on time.
· The Repository will be open from October 1st to
October 7th to ensure every grantee uploads a final CSV file
containing all FY23 data.
REMINDER: Office
Hours – CY 2023 Homelessness Goals: October 5, 2023
The next Calendar
Year (CY) 2023 Homelessness Goals Office Hours call will be on Thursday,
October 5, 2023. This call will provide guidance on improving the use of
HOMES Assessments to connect Veterans to the full range of VA homeless
assistance resources.
SSVF grantees are strongly encouraged to have
at least one person from your organization attend.
These calls are held at 3:00 p.m. Eastern /
12:00 p.m. Pacific.
Please forward this reminder as appropriate.
If you need the ongoing invitation, please
email VHA11HPO38kGoalSupport@va.gov.
Access
the recordings and slides for previous calls.
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85681601911
One tap mobile:
US: +13017158592,,85681601911#
or +16469313860,,85681601911#
Join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality,
dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1
646 931 3860 or +1 305 224 1968 or +1 309 205 3325 or +1 312
626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 444 9171 or +1 689 278
1000 or +1 719 359 4580 or +1 720 707 2699 or +1 253 205
0468 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 360 209
5623 or +1 386 347 5053 or +1 507 473 4847 or +1 564 217 2000
Webinar ID: 856 8160 1911
RESOURCE: Hiring and Retention
Practices for SSVF Grantees
As grantees prepare for the
increase of funding in FY24, the SSVF Program Office would like to remind you
of a recent webinar about hiring and retention for SSVF Grantees and their
community partners on Thursday, December 16, 2021. This provides uses of SSVF
funds to support hiring and retention with examples of how to attract and
retain talent while creating a diverse workforce. The webinar also provides
examples of what has worked for SSVF grantees to hire and retain staff.
va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/Hiring_and_Retention.pdf