WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET: PREVENTING , ENDING VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
April 20, 2015
FACT SHEET: Preventing and Ending Veteran Homelessness

The President has pledged not just to address veteran homelessness, but to end it. The Administration has made historic investments, using proven strategies in partnership between HUD and VA, to achieve this goal.  We’ve helped veterans and their families access rapid rehousing when falling into homelessness, and have aided chronically homeless veterans in stabilizing their lives through permanent supportive housing, which – in addition to serving those veterans – generates public sector savings exceeding the cost of the intervention.

As a result, we’ve made strong progress.  Since 2010, nearly 230,000 veterans and their family members have been supported by HUD’s targeted housing vouchers and VA homelessness programs designed to permanently house, rapidly rehouse, or prevent families from falling into homelessness. According to the most recent nationwide data, from 2010 to January 2014 the total number of homeless veterans nationwide declined 33 percent, and the number of unsheltered veterans – those sleeping on the street or outside at night – declined 44 percent.  While more work remains, this overall progress shows that veteran homelessness is not an intractable problem, it is a challenge that can be solved over time if we act decisively and have a shared commitment from the Federal government, state and local governments, private businesses, philanthropies, and communities.

Ending veteran homelessness does not mean that we can prevent every veteran from facing a housing crisis in the future.  But it does mean that when and if a housing crisis does occur, we can have systems in place to identify and quickly house all of our veterans.

Local Progress

Reaching the goal of ending veteran homelessness will require ramped up engagement from partners across the country and at the state and local level, in collaboration with the federal government. In June 2014, as part of Joining Forces, the First Lady helped to launch the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness to help advance this work.  As part of the Challenge, 570 mayors, governors, and other local officials have committed to ending veteran homelessness in their communities by the end of this year – an unprecedented expression of the local commitment that is required to end veteran homelessness. Last week, the First Lady held a call with mayors who are committed to the challenge, discussing specific actions they can take to end veteran homelessness in their communities.

In December 2014, New Orleans became the first major city to meet the challenge and end veteran homelessness, and state and local communities around the country are working to this goal. Today, to help other cities learn from the progress underway, First Lady Michelle Obama is taking part in a forum for mayors and local leaders in New Orleans, as part of the Joining Forces initiative’s continued work to advance the Mayors Challenge.  At the forum, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, federal officials, and community partners will discuss the strategies New Orleans used to effectively end homelessness among veterans a year ahead of the national goal.

New Orleans is not alone in making dramatic progress on ending veteran homelessness – other communities, such as Houston, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City, have reached major milestones, and continue to strive toward the goal of ending homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015. Achieving this goal means that veterans are not sleeping on our streets, all veterans in shelter or transitional housing are connected to permanent housing, and communities have systems in place to prevent and end future homelessness among veterans quickly and efficiently, ensuring that it is a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience.

Administration Efforts

To work with communities in achieving this goal, the Administration has invested significant new resources and focus. Almost 70,000 HUD-VASH housing vouchers have been provided to over 400 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) nationwide to date, and another 10,000 vouchers will be awarded in fiscal year 2015.  The President’s FY 2016 budget includes a total of $1.4 billion for VA programs that prevent or end homelessness among veterans, including $300 million for Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) and $374 million for case management and other supportive services to support nearly 95,000 veterans in the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. Federal agencies are also working together to speed progress in local communities, providing guidance and support to leaders who have signed on to the Mayors Challenge, and encouraging all communities to conduct point-in-time counts of unsheltered people in January 2016, to obtain an accurate assessment of the number of homeless individuals at the end of 2015.

These federal efforts are all aimed at supporting local communities to implement the strategies that are proving effective in promoting rapid access to permanent housing for all veterans.

Essential strategies at the community level include:

Creating coordinated assessment and entry systems to ensure that there is no wrong door for veterans seeking help and to create more efficient pathways out of homelessness and into permanent housing;

Conducting coordinated outreach and engagement efforts to proactively seek out veterans in need of assistance, sharing information across outreach teams and sites, and collaborating across systems, including law enforcement, prisons and jails, hospitals, libraries, and job centers;

Identifying all veterans experiencing homelessness within the community by name and creating a shared list of veterans experiencing homelessness to ensure that no veteran and his or her family falls through the cracks and that all are linked to the most appropriate housing and services options;

Setting concrete and ambitious monthly or quarterly goals for helping veterans and their families get back into housing as a strategy for pushing local systems to perform with maximum efficiency and achieve better outcomes;

Implementing Housing First practices and approaches across every part of the homelessness services and housing systems, removing barriers to help veterans and their families obtain permanent housing as quickly as possible, without unnecessary prerequisites; and Increasing connections to employment by collaborating with Workforce Investment Boards, homelessness services and housing organization, VA Medical Centers, and employers, recognizing that employment and income are critical to the ability of people to obtain and sustain housing stability and avoid future crises.

These strategies, essential for ending veteran homelessness, will also help communities to work toward ending homelessness for every American child, youth, adult, and family. For more details regarding Federal programs and the most effective strategies for ending veteran homelessness, see USICH’s webpage and VA’s webpage. For more details about the Mayors Challenge, and the list of elected officials who have signed on, visit HUD’s webpage.

Earlier this year, Administration officials fanned out across the country to participate in the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) counts.  HUD requires its partner communities to conduct at least a biannual PIT count of homeless persons who are unsheltered.  For this year’s PIT count, Secretaries Castro, McDonald, and Perez, along with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, OMB Director Shaun Donovan, and other Senior Administration Officials participated alongside volunteers to help shed light on the efforts underway and the additional commitments needed to reach the goal of ending veteran homelessness.

DOL SECRETARY PEREZ VISITS PEOPLE ASSISTING HOMELESS VETERANS

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
Veterans Share Experiences of Homelessness

 Secretary Perez (center) speaks with veterans employed at Connections Housing in San Diego, (from left) Mario Moreno, Kevin Greene and Manuel Sanchez (front right) on March 31, 2015. U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (to the Secretary's right) and U.S. Rep. Susan Davis also toured the facility. Connections Housing is operated by PATH, a recipient of funding through the department's Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program.

As part of his trip to the West Coast, Secretary Perez visited Veterans at Connections Housing, a San Diego facility affiliated with People Assisting the Homeless. PATH, is an organization that provides sustainable housing for homeless veterans with funds from the department's Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program. One seven-year Navy veteran was homeless for 20 months before coming to the facility, where he found temporary shelter and learned job search skills like resume building and interviewing. He soon landed a job at a moving company. "While homelessness and joblessness among veterans continues to steadily decline, it remains our moral duty to do all we can to honor our veterans with the dignity of a good job," Perez said. He was joined by Congressional Reps. Scott Peters and Susan Davis. Last year, the department awarded more than $36 million to 156 organizations nationwide, which provided services to more than 12,000 veterans through HVRP.

VA HAS NEW GRANTS TO HELP HOMELESS VETS

FROM:  U.S. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
VA Announces New Grants to Help End Veteran Homelessness
March 31, 2015, 02:04:00 PM

VA Announces New Grants to Help End Veteran Homelessness
Initiative Targets 45,000 Homeless and At-Risk Vets and Families in High Need Communities

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald today announced the award of nearly $93 million in Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) 3-year grants that will help approximately 45,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. The grants will be distributed to 24 non-profit agencies in 15 communities, with $30 million in awards being distributed to the Los Angeles area.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to using evidence-based approaches such as SSVF to prevent homelessness and produce successful outcomes for Veterans and their families,” said Secretary McDonald. “This is a program that works, because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to effectively address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some Veterans and their families to remain stably housed.”

 Under the SSVF program, VA is awarding grants to private, non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income Veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing.  The grants announced today will provide additional resources to the fourth year operations of the SSVF program.

 “With the addition of these crucial resources, communities across the country continue an historic drive to prevent and end homelessness among Veterans,” said Matthew Doherty, Acting Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.  “The SSVF program gives Veterans and their families the rapid assistance they need to remain in permanent housing or get back into permanent housing as quickly as possible.”

Through the homeless Veterans initiative, VA committed more than $1 billion in FY 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among Veterans. VA provides a range of services to homeless Veterans, including health care, housing, job training and education.

NEARLY $ 9 MILLION IN GRANTS APPROVED BY VA FOR TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING OF HOMELESS VETS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
VA Approves $8.8 Million in Grants to Provide Transportation and Renovated Housing for Homeless Veterans
November 12, 2013

WASHINGTON—The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved $8.8 million in grants to fund 164 projects in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to rehabilitate currently operational transitional housing projects and acquire vans to facilitate the transportation needs of homeless Veterans.
“President Obama has made eliminating Veterans’ homelessness a national priority,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.  “We want every Veteran who faces homelessness to know that VA is here to help.  The Grant and Per Diem Program provides significant assistance to those who need it.”
The grants awarded through the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program are for currently operational grantees, who will use this funding to rehabilitate their current project locations to enhance safety, security and privacy for the homeless Veterans they serve.  Additionally, funding for these organizations to acquire vans will assist homeless Veterans with transportation to medical appointments and employment opportunities, as well as enable grantees to conduct outreach within their communities.

GPD helps close gaps in available housing for the nation’s most vulnerable homeless Veterans, including men and women with children, Indian tribal populations, and Veterans with substance use and mental health issues.  Community-based programs funded by GPD provide homeless Veterans with support services and housing.  GPD grants are offered annually as funding is available by VA’s homeless Veterans programs.

Lisa Pape, National Director of Homeless Programs, which oversees GPD, said, “These grant awards are a reinvestment in the community that will strengthen community services around the country so that homeless Veterans have access to safe and secure housing and receive quality support and services.

“The 2013 GPD grant awards represent an ongoing commitment to VA’s community partners.  These awards will make community-based GPD facilities safer and secure, ensuring that our community partners continue to provide excellent mental health support, employment assistance and job training with the essential component of housing,” Pape added. “Whether it is aid in overcoming substance use or finding a job, a community helping hand is exactly what these Veterans need to lead a better quality of life.”

Since 2009, homelessness among Veteran has decreased more than 17 percent.  As part of President Obama’s and Shinseki’s five-year plan to eliminate Veteran homelessness by 2015, VA has committed over $1 billion in fiscal year 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and treat the many issues that can lead to Veteran homelessness.

More information about VA’s homeless programs is available at www.va.gov/homeless.  Details about the GPD Program are online at www.va.gov/homeless/GPD.asp.

VA APPROVES $28 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR HOMELESS VETS

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, and retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, director of the CIA, salute a crowd during the Veterans Day Parade in New York, Nov. 11, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade

　
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
VA Approves $28 Million in Grants for Homeless Veterans
From a Department of Veterans Affairs News

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2012 - The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced it has approved $28.4 million in grants to fund 38 projects in 25 states and the District of Columbia that will provide transitional housing to homeless veterans.

Among these 38 projects, 31 will provide temporary housing to homeless veterans with the goal that they will retain the residence as their own.

"As we drive toward our goal to end homelessness among veterans by 2015, VA continues to find innovative ways to permanently house veterans who were formerly homeless," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "Under President [Barack] Obama's leadership, we have made incredible strides in creating programs to aid these brave men and women who have served our Nation so well."

Thirty-one of the grants were awarded through VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program's "Transition in Place" model. The program allows veterans the opportunity to take over payment of a lease instead of moving out after using VA services—substance use counseling, mental health services, job training and more. Other VA programs require veterans living in transitional housing to move out after 24 months.

GPD helps close gaps in available housing for the nation's most vulnerable homeless veterans, including women with children, Native American tribal populations, and veterans with substance use and mental health issues.

Those receiving funding have undergone a rigorous review by teams of experts rating each application under objective criteria to ensure that those funded have the ability to provide the services described and a solid plan to get these Veterans into housing with a high probability of obtaining residential stability and independent living.

"Securing permanent housing is a vital step in the journey of our homeless Veterans," said Dr. Susan Angell, executive director for VA's Veterans Homeless Initiative. "This is the last piece of the puzzle, and it is crucial for them in continuing to lead independent lives."

Community-based programs funded by GPD provide homeless veterans with support services and housing. GPD grants are offered annually as funding is available by VA's National Homeless Program.

Lisa Pape, national director of homeless programs for the Veterans Health Administration which oversees GPD said VHA's focus is creating and strengthening community services around the country so that homeless Veterans get the support they need.

"Our focus is creating a team of community support -- pairing a variety of services, such as mental health support, employment assistance and job training with the essential component of housing," Pape said. "Whether it is aid in overcoming substance use or finding a job, a community helping hand is exactly what these veterans need to lead a better quality of life."

On a single night in 2011, a national count of homeless veterans totaled 67,495, which is 12 percent lower than 76,000 in 2010. As part of the government's five-year plan to eliminate veteran homelessness by 2015, VA has committed almost $1 billion to strengthen programs that prevent and treat the many issues that can lead to veteran homelessness.

The award of grants follows closely with a notice VA published asking interested organizations to submit a nonbinding letter of intent to the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program to apply for initial and renewal supportive services grants by Sept. 28, 2012. The SSVF Program in the first 10 months of operation has assisted more than 28,000 veterans and their families to prevent or rapidly end homelessness.

VA WORKS TO END VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

FROM AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

VA Makes Progress on Pledge to End Veteran Homelessness

By Donna Miles
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2012 - The Veterans Affairs Department is making progress on its pledge to end homelessness among veterans, with a focus on getting all homeless veterans off the streets by 2015, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told American Forces Press Service.

Shinseki joined President Barack Obama in announcing the plan in November 2009, proclaiming that no veteran should ever have to be living on the streets.

VA is working toward that goal, Shinseki told Congress last month, reporting that the number of homeless veterans on a given night dropped from 76,300 in 2010 to about 67,500 in 2011. The next goal, he said, is to drive those numbers down to 35,000 by the end of fiscal 2013, and ultimately, to zero.

As Shinseki set out to transform VA after arriving in 2009, he made the homeless issue a top priority in getting to the bottom of what he viewed as an institutional problem.

"Homelessness among veterans was a demonstration to me that we didn't have all our programs knitted together," he said. "As good as we thought we were doing in health care and other benefits, ... we had people who were slipping through the gaps in our programs -- most visibly, the homeless."

Getting homeless veterans off the streets, particularly within such a tight timeline, would be the driving force in creating positive change throughout VA, he explained.

"If you say you are going to end homelessness, then you have to be good at everything else," he said. "If you declare to end it, you have to figure out all the pieces that contribute to it so you can begin solving the pieces in order for the whole to be solved."

That, he said, requires making sure VA is addressing the root causes behind homelessness.

It means more than simply getting veterans into school; it means making sure they graduate, he explained. It's not just sending them for vocational training; it's ensuring they finish the training and are postured to land a job.

"That's how you beat homelessness," Shinseki said. "It's not the front door. It's the back door. What did they gain out of the program?"

To support this effort, VA's budget request for fiscal 2013 includes nearly $1.4 billion for programs designed to prevent or end homelessness among veterans. This represents a 33 percent increase, or $333 million, over the 2012 funding level.

The additional funding will provide grants and technical assistance to community nonprofit organizations to maintain veterans and their families in current housing or get them quickly into new housing. It also will provide grants and per diem payments for community-based organizations offering transitional housing to 32,000 veterans.

Shinseki also plans to hire 200 coordinators to help homeless veterans with disability claims, housing problems, job and vocational opportunities and problems with the courts.

Since announcing his homeless initiative, Shinseki said, he's come to understand that dealing with homelessness is really a two-part challenge.

It's one thing to get homeless veterans physically off the streets in what he calls the "rescue" part of the challenge. Shinseki said he feels confident that this part of the mission to be completed by 2015, as promised.

But the less visible and more challenging part of the problem, he said, is addressing a population that's at risk of becoming homeless. These, Shinseki explained, are veterans who are "one paycheck, one mortgage payment, one more missed utility bill away from being evicted."

"We never see that. But if we are going to truly end homelessness, we have to have a better picture of [that]... and go into prevention mode," Shinseki said. "Otherwise, you will never be able to solve this."

So while he expects the rescue mission to wrap up in 2015, Shinseki said, he'll be able to dedicate more resources toward an ongoing prevention effort.

"If you don't stop this faucet, you never end homelessness," he said.

VA REPORTS INCREASING NUMBERS OF HOMELESS WOMEN VETERANS

The following excerpt is from the Veterans Affairs website:
Homeless women Veteran on the rise; VA Improving Services
March 21, 2012 by Stacy Vasquez
A’s efforts to provide housing and health care support for women Veterans have never been more critical. The number of homeless women Veterans continues to rise.  As a result, VA is taking steps to improve and expand its services for women Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. While VA’s services are available to all Veterans, there are special programs available to women Veterans, including supportive services for Veteran families, HUD-VASH housing vouchers, Grant and Pier Diem program, and specialized health care and mental health services for women—all designed to better meet the needs of women Veterans.

VA understands that many women Veterans face great challenges when returning to civilian life that are different from those of male Veterans. These challenges, without intervention, can put women Veterans at greater risk of becoming homeless.
“Homelessness is really a symptom and the end step in a long stage of deterioration,” said W. Scott Gould, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, at the 25th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colorado.  “Once they are [at VA], we have the tools and capabilities to be able to help them,” he said.
According the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, women comprised 8 percent of the homeless Veteran population in 2010; however, they represented only 7 percent of the Veteran population.

A recent GAO report cites the special conditions or predispositions that make it hard for women to readjust after service. Two-thirds of homeless women Veterans were between 40 and 59 years old, the report said, and more than one-third had disabilities. In addition, many of these women live with young children. In addition to the demands that come with bearing and raising children, women are sometimes victims of traumatic events experienced during their service. The GAO emphasized the need for VA to provide reliable and expansive programs that specifically aim to help women Veterans get the benefits, housing, child care, transportation, and health care support they need.
All homeless Veterans and Veterans at risk of homelessness are encouraged to connect with VA services by calling the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838), or online atwww.veteranscrisisline.net.

VA will continue to evaluate and ramp up its programs to meet the needs of all homeless and at-risk Veterans, men and women alike—a challenge VA embraces.
For more on VA’s initiative to end Veteran homelessness by 2015, and to access information and resources, visit: www.va.gov/homeless.

Stacy Vasquez is a U.S. Army Veteran (1991 – 2003). She currently serves as the Deputy Director for Homeless Veteran Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.