WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to prevent homelessness among veterans, primarily those returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on July 22 that both agencies will invest a combined $15 million in five selected communities near military installations. The HUD and VA grant funding is intended to provide housing assistance and supportive services to veterans who might otherwise be living in homeless shelters or on the streets.

Under the new Veterans Homelessness Prevention Demonstration Program (VHPD), existing HUD grantees or “Continuums of Care” located near the following military installations will each receive $2 million: MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida; Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas; Fort Drum in Watertown, New York; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington. In addition, VA medical centers in the following areas will each receive $1 million: Tampa, San Diego, Dallas, Syracuse, New York, and American Lake in Washington.

“The men and women who serve our nation deserve better than a life on the streets when they return home,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. “These grants represent a first step toward designing the best interventions possible so that we can prevent homelessness for those heroes who sacrificed so much for us. It is also another step forward toward reaching President Obama’s goal of preventing and ending homelessness in all its forms.”

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki added, “While usually the strongest and most resilient of Americans, veterans still represent a disproportionate share of America’s jobless, homeless, depressed, substance abusers and suicides. Nowhere is our obligation to our citizens, and to our veterans who have defended our nation, more important, more visible, or more necessary than in our commitment to prevent and end homelessness.”

“This effort is about reaching veterans and their families who are transitioning home and struggling to readjust,” said Senator Patty Murray, who established VHPD in the Fiscal Year 2009 Housing Appropriations bill. “By providing access to stable housing, health care, and job training and outreach services, this program provides targeted support to our heroes who are returning home to a difficult economic climate. All veterans deserve housing and the dignity that comes with it, and this is another step to reach those who have sacrificed so much.”

Through this combination of housing, health care, and employment services provided through the U.S. Department of Labor, VHPD is designed to explore innovative early interventions to help prevent veteran homelessness, targeted to service members returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three-year grants announced today will help the five identified communities or Continuums of Care to use and track client-level data provided by VA and the U.S. Department of Defense to target veterans who meet the eligibility criteria. VA will act as the primary liaison to grantees and will provide eligible veterans with access to VA health care and benefits. HUD funds will provide short- or medium-term rental assistance, including security deposits, utility payments and case management. In addition, the program will offer community-based supportive services appropriate for veterans and their families, including child care and family services.

VHPD is also intended to improve the understanding of the unique needs of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. HUD anticipates that it will take approximately 90 days from the date these grant agreements are signed for selected grantees to be able to identify and serve veteran individuals and/or families who qualify for assistance under VHPD.

VHPD also supports the Obama Administration’s far-reaching and ambitious strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Last month, HUD 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.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Appropriations have approved record funding for homeless veterans in their fiscal year (FY) 2011 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bills. Most notably, these bills include $151 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program – the funding equivalent of about 20,000 vouchers – and $220.6 and $218 million, respectively, for the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program and program liaisons, which received $150 million in funding in FY 2010.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) has been advocating for a $200 million GPD appropriation since 2005.

In both appropriations bills, the President’s historic budget request for homeless veterans programs is met or exceeded, with about $800 million going toward direct programs to assist homeless veterans. Highlights from the Senate appropriations bill include: $10 million to provide family-friendly housing for homeless veterans on VA medical campuses, and $12.6 million for the Veteran Justice Outreach program. In the House appropriations bill, highlights include: $51 million for supportive services for low-income veterans and families.

For a more detailed overview of the Senate appropriations bill, click here.

For a more detailed overview of the House appropriations bill, click here.

The following is from the Education Center at The Wall:

Behind every name, a story. Our goal is to collect photos for all 58,261 veterans on The Wall. It was thousands of individuals who helped build the Memorial; now we are calling on you once again.

Do you have a photo or know someone who has a photo for a name on The Wall?

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is partnering with FedEx to collect these precious photos. It’s simple. Bring an original picture to any FedEx Office location (office locations, not shipping-only centers). They will scan your photo while you wait and hand the original right back to you. To download and print out the submission form, click here.

For more information and instructions on how to mail your photos, click here.

If you don’t have a photo yourself, spread the word. Ask family, friends, neighbors. Visit your local library to search for yearbooks. Ask at your church, or put a call for action in your hometown newspaper. For more information about this initiative, visit http://www.buildthecenter.org/.

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.

On Tuesday, July 13, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, Office of National AIDS Policy Director Jeffrey Crowley, and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh will unveil the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) during a live briefing from the White House.

NHAS is a comprehensive plan focused on (1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, (2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and (3) reducing HIV-related health disparities.

The plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, partners in prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

The live event will begin at 2 p.m. (eastern time). You can view live streaming video of the briefing by visiting AIDS.gov.

After the briefing, visit the NHAS Web page on AIDS.gov to learn more about the new strategy and implementation plan.

Latest News on Opening Doors

On June 22, 2010, USICH and the four lead Cabinet Secretaries on the Council unveiled the first-ever comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness.  The full report, titled Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, is available at www.usich.gov. Additional supplemental materials will be released in the coming weeks.
- Watch White House announcement
- Administration officials discuss Opening Doors on a webcast
- Deputy Director Love discusses Plan on C-SPAN

Council Member Agency Announcements Department of Housing and Urban Development $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. Department of Health and Human Services SAMHSA launches online trainings on implementing plans to end homelessenss Department of Labor A new VETS/Job Corps Training opportunity for Veterans who are 20 to 24 years old Grants announced for organizations serving homeless female Veterans and Veterans with families Announcement of $4 million in Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program grants to serve more than 1,400 formerly incarcerated Veterans at risk of homelessness More than 14,000 Veterans to benefit from more than $24 million in job training grants Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless housing development opportunity in Martinsburg, WV The VA is seeking qualified entities for a long-term lease development opportunity at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center

]]> http://www.homelessvetprovidertac.net/2010/latest-news-from-u-s-interagency-council-on-homelessness/feed/ 0 http://www.homelessvetprovidertac.net/2010/vas-national-homeless-call-center-1-877-4aid-vet/ http://www.homelessvetprovidertac.net/2010/vas-national-homeless-call-center-1-877-4aid-vet/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:20:14 +0000 David Zell http://www.homelessvetprovidertac.net/?p=532 To end homelessness, we must  prevent it from happening in the first place. That’s why VA established a 24/7, toll free call center. Veterans, their families, and community providers can contact VA before a Veteran becomes homeless. This ensures Veterans who have become homeless find the services that are right for them.

• 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, free
• Receive information about VA homeless programs and mental health services in your area
• Get connected to the nearest Homeless Point of Contact at your closest VA facility
• Contact information will be requested so staff may follow-up

The Department of Verterans Affairs (VA) is taking decisive action to end Veteran homelessness in five years. To do so, VA will partner with federal, state, local and tribal governments; community organizations; and other stakeholders to reach out to homeless Veterans, and those at risk of becoming homeless, to make sure those Veterans who need a hand have  access to the programs and services that are right for them.

To learn more, please visit: www.va.gov/homeless