Tag: veteran homelessness

The Effort to End Veteran Homelessness Gets the First Lady Boost

Posted on by robbie

“When a veteran comes home kissing the ground, it is unacceptable that he has to sleep on it.”
That was the emotional decree from First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony Wednesday as she ramps up efforts to eliminate veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 — a deadline that was set by President Barack Obama’s administration four years ago, NBC News reports.
The Mayors’ Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness already has gained commitment from 77 mayors, four governors, and four county officials. Obama, who partnered with Dr. Jill Biden for the initiative, is hoping to use a little friendly competition to urge officials to get more involved in finding homes for their local vets.

“I want to know if more mayors can challenge each other on this issue,” Obama added. “Can you challenge a neighboring mayor or governor to see who can get all their vets into housing first?”

“These leaders are best equipped to tackle this challenge because they know their communities inside and out. They are in touch with service providers who know these veterans by name,” the First Lady said. “They aren’t just going to address veteran homelessness in their cities and states, they are going to end it.”

Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan were also in attendance during the announcement of the new initiative.

Though veteran homelessness has dropped annually since 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that since 2013, there are almost 58,000 vets without a roof over their heads on any given night. That is still too high of a number to welcome home the men and women who fight for us, Obama notes, calling it a “moral outrage.”

“Tens of thousands of veterans who risked their lives for our country are sleeping in their cars, or in a shelter, or next to a subway vent.” Obama continued. “We should be horrified because that is not who we are as Americans.”

For veterans like Chris Fuentes, the extra attention on transition programs will give veterans one less thing to worry about upon returning home. Fuentes, who introduced the First Lady, had to send her daughter to live with her mother after coming home from service in Iraq, CNN reports. The soldier had lost her job and was living in a car before a fellow veteran informed her of VA services that assisted her in finding a new house to bring home her daughter.

With the help of state and local leaders, the First Lady is hoping all vets can return to a home of their own, too.

MORE: Big Bets: How Can We Serve Our Veterans? Ask Them to Serve Us

This Innovative Program Found Housing for 200 Homeless Veterans in Just 100 Days

Posted on by robbie

For far too many veterans, the end of their military service doesn’t involve a happy homecoming when they arrive back on American soil.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 62,619 veterans were counted as homeless in 2012. Despite this being a drastic decline of 17.2 percent since 2009, veteran homelessness is still a huge problem in this country. In response, cities across the country — as part of Community Solutions’ 100,000 Homes campaign — are tackling the issue of veteran homelessness, vowing to reach the Obama Administration’s goal of ending it by December 2015.
And it seems to be working: Phoenix has already declared victory in their war against veteran homelessness. Utah claims to be on track to end homelessness altogether by 2015. Tennessee was recently profiled by 60 Minutes for the state’s efforts. And now officials in the nation’s capitol are doing their part. Last week, representatives from Veterans NOW, a coalition of district and national organizations and agencies, announced that in just 100 days — between August 9 and November 30 — they were able to place 207 homeless veterans, 96 of whom were considered chronically homeless, in houses.
MORE: Yes It’s True. Subsidizing Housing for the Homeless Can Save Them — And Taxpayers’ Money
In 2013, a one-night census of Washington, D.C.’s homeless population found that 499 veterans were living on the streets — a 29 percent decline since 2009. However, twice as many veterans were considered “at risk” of homelessness and in need of emergency housing services. Bolstered by that statistic, national organizations like The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Human Services teamed up with local groups such as the DC Housing Authority, Miriam’s Kitchen and Pathways to Housing DC to connect homeless veterans with subsidized housing.
According to DCist (a local blog that covers all things Washington, D.C.), these veterans are assessed through a universal service prioritization decision assistance tool, which asks about their history of homelessness, risk factors, socialization and medical needs. Each person is then scored to see if he or she is considered “vulnerable,” in which case permanent supportive housing or rapid re-housing would be recommended. The veterans are housed through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program — $6.5 million in funding has provided for the D.C. region — Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), HUD Permanent Supportive Housing and the D.C. DHS Permanent Supportive Housing program. The apartments themselves are located by officials from the D.C. Housing Authority directly reaching out landlords who partner with the organization.
MORE: Phoenix Just Became the First City to End Chronic Veteran Homelessness. Here’s How
The success of Veterans NOW’s first 100-day program has convinced everyone involved to give it a second go-around. Currently, the organization is in the midst of another 100-day push, where they hope to house 190 homeless veterans, including 56 who are chronically homeless, by March 31. And it looks like they’ll meet their goal. So far, 161 veterans have been placed in homes, including 84 who were considered chronically homeless. In total, communities participating in the 100,000 Homes Campaign have placed almost 89,000 homeless individuals in homes. And that number is growing every day.
While it is too soon to tell if we’ll reach President Barack Obama’s goal of eradicating veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, it looks like we’re getting a whole lot closer.
AND: This Hero Isn’t Just Alleviating Homelessness; He’s Preventing It