Message from Monica Diaz, Executive Director, VHA Homeless Programs Office| December 2020 - VA Homeless Programs
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Message from Monica Diaz, Executive Director, VHA Homeless Programs Office| December 2020

December 2020

Monica Diaz

Like many others, VHA Homeless Programs Office (HPO) staff view December as a time for reflection. As we finalize our 2021 strategic plan, the HPO team is assessing the challenges that homeless and at-risk Veterans face during this unprecedented time. We are also pinpointing solutions for inclusion in the plan. The HPO team will maintain its focus on improving our policies, procedures, and processes to deliver timely and high-quality services faster and more efficiently. For HPO, the status quo is not acceptable because we know that Veterans and their families facing imminent housing crises are counting on us.

In 2021, we will continue pushing our colleagues to identify "promising practices" that produce positive and repeatable outcomes. The HPO Promising Practices Workgroup published five papers this year about unique ways to help Veterans during the pandemic. Staff at VA medical centers across the country used the documents to continue pursuing our goal of providing Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with the world-class care and support they have earned and deserve. View the papers here.

Evidence of our innovation can be found across VA programs addressing homelessness. For example, rather than canceling its annual Homeless Veteran Stand Down due to concerns about COVID-19, the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System held a successful event by implementing physical distancing requirements and staggered attendance. Read more here.

December is also a time for gratitude, and everyone at VA knows we can't do our important work alone. We extend our deepest thanks to partners who have found new and creative ways to help Veterans find their way back to housing stability and achieve their goals. Many stories of their good work are published on this page and VA's VAntage Point blog. VAntage Point also features a podcast episode on the $300 million that Congress provided to help VA address homelessness, as well as a story on a Facebook Live event hosted by HPO and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) that highlighted resources for Veterans at risk of homelessness due to COVID-19.

The holiday season is a giving season, so we encourage you to consider how you can help Veterans who are homeless in your community.

Here are some ways you can help:

Thank you for following our work this year, doing work of your own, and being committed to preventing and ending homelessness among Veterans. We wish you a restful and safe holiday season and a happy new year.