Job Corps, VETS Launch Veteran Employment Project
All expenses paid for 18- to 24-year-old veterans

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employment and Training Administration and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service have announced a demonstration project to assist eligible veterans who have recently left the military in gaining enhanced skills to compete in the civilian workplace.
This project will apply the comprehensive training model of Job Corps – a no-cost education and vocational training program administered by DOL – to support the education and training of 18- to 24-year-old veterans. The initial project will enable young veterans to live and train in one of three Job Corps centers: Atterbury Job Corps Center in Edinburgh, Indiana; Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center in Morganfield, Kentucky; and Excelsior Springs Job Corps Center in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
Participation by veterans in this demonstration project will be free, including transportation to and from the Job Corps center, housing, meals, basic medical services, academic and career technical training, bi-weekly living allowances, and job placement and post-graduation support.
For more information, click here.

NCHV Publishes New Homeless Court Program Manual
Provides step-by-step instruction for service providers

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) has published Homeless Court: Helping to Remove Veterans’ Barriers to Employment, which will prepare service providers to institute the Homeless Court Program (HCP) in their communities. In the manual, Steve Binder, founder of the nation’s first Homeless Court, provides a step-by-step strategy for implementation and relates some of his experiences with the program. Additional features include: a list of legal resources, sample HCP materials, and information on the American Bar Association’s Homeless Court policy and its Commission on Homelessness & Poverty.
Homeless Court is a collaboration between the court and homeless shelters and service agencies in which clients’ participation in program activities is recognized as “payment” for mostly minor offenses. The HCP expedites homeless veterans’ reintegration into society by providing them with a foundation to become employed: a clear record.
For more information and to download the HCP manual, click here. Also, hard copies will soon be available through NCHV; please contact mgornick@nchv.org with requests.

HUD Announces $190 Million in Homeless Grants
189 programs will primarily assist homeless veterans

On July 7, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced nearly $190 million in new grants to assist hundreds of local homeless assistance programs across the country. The funding will provide support to 550 local projects that will offer critically needed housing and support services to nearly 20,000 homeless individuals and families over the extended lifetime of these grants. A complete listing of those local programs awarded funding can be found here.
Last December, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nearly $1.4 billion through its Continuum of Care (CoC) programs to quickly renew funding to 6,445 existing local programs. The grants announced on July 7 build on that investment by funding new projects, awarded by competition and funded through the 2009 CoC funds. In addition, the funding supports the Obama Administration’s far-reaching and ambitious plan to end homelessness. Last month, Donovan and 18 other federal agencies unveiled Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families and youth by 2020.
To read HUD’s full press release, which includes highlights of the department’s homeless assistance, click here.

VA Hosts Bidders Conference for Enhance Use Lease Property
July 27 at Martinsburg VA Medical Center

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is hosting a Bidders Conference to familiarize the private development sector with an opportunity to build, operate and maintain permanent and/or transitional affordable supportive housing, with priority placement for veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. This proposed development would be located on 3.3 acres of unimproved land on the Martinsburg VA Medical Center Campus in West Virginia. Development of the real estate will be completed under VA’s enhanced use lease authority, granted under 38 USC §§ 8161-8169. VA is requesting proposals from interested parties, will evaluate the responses, and award an enhanced use lease to the offeror proposing a best value solution to VA.

The Bidders Conference will take place on July 27, 2010, at 11 a.m. at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center. A Q-and-A session and site tour will follow. To view the request for proposals, click here. For more information, email vaeulmartinsburg@va.gov.

NCHV 2010 Annual Conference Presentations Now Online
Also: conference program, photos, award winners

The 2010 NCHV Annual Conference page now contains a schedule of sessions with links to download presentations. The conference photo album, full program and list of NCHV award winners can also be accessed through this page.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s event, which was widely considered the best NCHV Annual Conference to date. Your engagement and input will help us develop an even greater conference in 2011 – we can’t wait to see you then!

Funding Opportunities

The MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 by MetLife to continue its longstanding tradition of contributions and community involvement.  The goal is to empower people to lead healthy, productive lives and strengthen communities. One focus area is to revitalize urban neighborhoods through affordable housing, financial literacy and programs that address basic needs of the economically disadvantaged. Requests are accepted and reviewed throughout the year. For more information, click here.

The Pamida Foundation gives back to Pamida’s communities and neighbors by supporting the education of youth, helping families in need, and the enhancing the quality of life for senior citizens. Pamida has stores in over 200 communities in 17 states. The Pamida Foundation accepts applications throughout the year. For more information, click here.