Tennessee Valley Healthcare System encourages community to advocate for homeless Veterans

The TVHS Homeless Veteran Program provides rental subsidies for roughly 1,000 Veterans and their families in middle Tennessee, however, the program is facing challenges due to increases in rent and rapid growth population.

“Our job is to locate and provide affordable housing for our nation’s Veterans, but we’re seeing an increase in rental properties turning them away,” said Dan Heim, TVHS homeless veterans program manager. “Currently in Rutherford County, we have 20 Veterans at risk of becoming homeless a second time due to escalating rent costs.”

In the past four months in Rutherford County, only one affordable housing unit has been made available to Veterans participating in our housing program. In 24 months prior to the housing crisis, from 2019 through 2021, we housed 96 Veterans and families.

“We are in need of landlords in Rutherford and surrounding counties who are eager to help Veterans and their families,” said Heim. “Our program makes miracles happen, and we can’t do it without the support of the community.”

Middle Tennessee property owners interested in helping Veterans can email TVHHomelessProgram@va.gov for more information. 

TVHS is an integrated tertiary health care system comprised of two hospitals, the Alvin C. York campus in Murfreesboro and the Nashville campus, as well as 19 community-based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee and Kentucky. TVHS provides ambulatory care, primary care, and secondary care in acute medicine and surgery, specialized tertiary care, transplant services, spinal cord injury outpatient care, and a full range of extended care and mental health services.

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Hannah McDuffie, Public Affairs Officer

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