WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - Today the Bush Administration announced more than $160 million in additional federal resources targeted to preventing and ending chronic homelessness. The announcement came at a meeting at the White House of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, chaired by Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi. The new investments reinforce the Administration's commitment to end chronic homelessness in the next decade, as evidenced by progress also reported in developing state interagency councils, city and county 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness, and leveraging private sector partnership. Pictured here are the Council's members at today's meeting.

The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education announced investments that reflect the targeting of resources to both intervention and prevention strategies. In convening the meeting for the announcement of record federal investment, Secretary Princpi stated, "These announcements today make up our unprecedented news of over $160 million in federal funding commitments to prevent and end chronic homelessness. I want to thank all the agencies present for their continued resolve to meet the Administration's commitment with these resources and the tools of collaboration and partnership."

"The continuing commitment of this Administration to the most vulnerable and disabled Americans is evidenced in the interagency investments announced today," indicated Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the Interagency Council. "Children, young adults, disabled individuals, and homeless veterans are all targeted with resources to prevent and end their homelessness." Executive Director Mangano reported to Council members that a total of 49 governors of states and territories have taken steps to convene state interagency councils on homelessness, and over 150 cities and counties have committed to or are developing 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness.

Addressing the Council as private sector partners who are leading city and county 10-Year Plan initiatives were Triangle United Way President Craig A. Chancellor from North Carolina and civic leader Horace Sibley, a prominent local attorney recruited by Mayor Shirley Franklin to lead implementation of Atlanta's Blueprint to End Homelessness. Triangle United Way has made homelessness a top priority this year with its support for 10-Year Plans in Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties. The Atlanta Blueprint has drawn almost $10 million in new private and philanthropic investment to its strategies, with the most recent addition being a $3 million anonymous gift. Of the new resources being attracted by the Blueprint, many will support the Gateway, one of the plan's key strategies: a 24/7 center projected to reduce overflow shelter demand and assist homeless persons with disabilities to obtain appropriate service referrals. Pictured below are (left to right) Horace Sidley, Craig Chancellor, and Steve Werthman (see Special Edition story).

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - Federal investments by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs and announced by Secretary Anthony Principi at today's meeting of the U.S Interagency Council will direct $31 million in new resources to homeless veterans. Included in the announcement are $18 million targeted to to 39 organizations in 17 states and DC for first-time Special Needs Grants (including assistance to people with chronic mental illness, frail, elderly and women veterans), and additional investments in technical assistance, and fire and safety improvements to facilities for homeless veterans. In addition, VA is providing nearly $13 million to medical centers to enhance collaboration with the non-profit and faith-based organizations who are Special Needs award recipients.

"VA is proud to help coordinate with other organizations to help end chronic homelessness in America," stated Secretary and Council Chair Principi in announcing the awards.

Today's meeting included presentations by four programs across the nation serving homeless veterans through a combination of federal agency resources. Speaking before the Council were:

• Marsha Four, Director of Homeless Services for the Philadelphia Veterans MultiService and Education Center in Philadelphia, PA
• Toni Reinis, Executive Director of New Directions in Los Angeles, CA
• Kathryn Spearman, Executive Director of Volunteers of America (VOA) in Tampa, FL
• Col. Charles Williams, Executive Director of the Maryland Center for Veterans Employment and Training (MCVET) in Balitmore, MD

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - At the U.S. Interagency Council meeting today, the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary and former Council Chair Tommy Thompson, announced 34 grant awards for the Treatment for the Homeless Projects program, totaling $67.6 million in agency investment over five years. Each grantee will receive up to $400,000 annually over a five-year period in this competitive grant program awarded to community providers to enable communities to expand and strengthen their treatment services for homeless individuals with substance abuse disorders, mental illness, or with co- occurring substance abuse disorders and mental illness. The average award ranges from $272,000 to $400,000 per year in total costs.

In addition, HHS will be funding over $400,000 in new research projects on homelessness this year, including research on family homelessness. HHS is spearheading two additional Policy Academies focusing on homeless families with children in early 2005 as part of its continued partnership with states. As a conclusion to the initial round of seven Homeless Policy Academies attended by 49 states and territories, a capstone National Learning Meeting will be held in October to capitalize on lessons learned by States already engaged in the planning process. To further assist those States who have already participated in a Homeless Policy Academy, an additional $500,000 will be made available in technical assistance funding. Pictured here are (left to right) Council Executive Director Philip Mangano, Secretary Principi, and Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige.

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - At the U.S Interagency Council meeting today in Washington, the U.S. Department of Labor announced six awards worth $3.5 million targeting two key groups in the overall homeless population. These are the latest in a series of awards totalling $46.4 million from the Department of Labor (DOL) to combat homelessness.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who is the current Vice Chair of the Interagency Council, stated, " These two grants are part of the Department's multifaceted approach to help people who are at risk and the homeless population. They help two key groups, children and the disabled, and are our recent efforts to help President Bush achieve his ten-year goal of ending chronic homelessness."

A new $2 million grant program was awarded under DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Youth Office to help teens aging out of foster care become employed and self-sufficient. The five grantees, each receiving $400,000, are the California Employment Development Department; Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs; New York State Office of Children & Family Services; Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, and the Texas Workforce Commission.

$1.5 million was awarded to the Corporation for Supportive Housing based in New York City to provide intensive employment-related technical assistance over 36 months under the Ending Chronic Homelessness through Employment and Housing Initiative, a cooperative effort of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS).

These investments serve to deepen further DOL's commitment to serving homeless and at-risk people. Previous homeless-related grants awarded by DOL over the last 6 months include:

• VETS' Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, which allocated $17 million to 78 grantees in 31 states
• ETA's Ready4Work program, recently received an additional $10 million to 18 faith-based and community programs that provide mentoring and other transition services for ex-convicts
• ETA's Youth Offender Demonstration Project, which awarded $9.2 million to the National Urban League to assist inner-city African American youth; and
• A Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) and ETA joint effort to provide local workforce investment boards with $5.8 million to provide employment assistance to disadvantaged individuals; and $1.2 million awarded to 48 faith- based and community organizations which help the hardest-to-serve homeless in the poorest neighborhoods.

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - At today's meeting of the U.S Interagency Council, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige (pictured here) announced a total of $58.5 million to state educational agencies to assist with school enrollment and retention of homeless students. The funding will come through the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. The Secretary also announced a new partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services in the planned 2005 federal Policy Academies on family homelessness. Two Policy Academies on family homelessness have been held to date, and the Department of Education announcement coincides with today's announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that it will conduct additional family homelessness academies in 2005.

The McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program, authorized in 1987 under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, was reauthorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 with the addition of a school district liaison being created in every school district to support homeless children and youth. The McKinney program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.

Under this program, State Educational Agencies (SEAs) must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment. States and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth.

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - WITH THIS ISSUE, the Special Edition focuses on the remarks of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Interagency Council Chair Anthony Principi (pictured here) at today's Council meeting in Washington.

"Our agenda today highlights the President's and each of your departments' and agencies' commitment to ending chronic homelessness in America."

"Let me thank you for your collective commitment to end homelessness in America. Your efforts are making a difference not only in the lives of veterans but rebuilding families and renewing communities. Your ability to partner not only with VA but with the other Federal partners is a testament to your commitment to those you serve."

"Our efforts are integrated and focused not only here in Washington but across the nation. I understand that our best effort will be to work collaboratively with federal, state and local leaders, veteran service providers, faith-based and community service providers and with the collective efforts of all we will prevail."

WASHINGTON, 9/29/04 - In Washington, the full Council meeting heard progress reports on the HUD- HHS-VA Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness, the unprecedented $35 million partnerships announced in 2003. Broward County, Florida, one of the 11 sites funded nationally, was represented by Collaborative Initiative point person Steven Werthman of the Broward County Department of Human Services. "I want to commend the Council members for collaborating in this initiative, which seeks to coordinate federal resources, across agency boundaries in new and innovative ways. Your leadership encourages communities such as Broward. It serves as a model for our own efforts, " stated Mr. Werthman, who went on to describe the community's progress in moving people from the street to permanent housing. According to Werthman, of the 24 people moved to date, including 5 veterans, their stories all have the same theme: thankful to be housed. Among the newly housed individuals, a total of 161 years of homelessness have been ended, with more people are going into housing every week.

Stated Council Executive Director Philip Mangano, "The good news is that those resources have been invested in 11 communities around our country and are demonstrating tangible, visible, quantifiable results. Among the more than 400 people now placed through the Chronic Homelessness Initiative investment we have now ended cumulatively over 2800 years of homelessness. That's an average of nearly 6.5 years for each person of homelessness. "

Region IV Council Coordinator Michael German (pictured here at left), addressing the full Council meeting on behalf of engagement initiatives for homeless veterans in Region IV, stated, "In April when Secretary Principi assumed the chair of the Council, he endorsed the Region IV ICH Stand Down efforts and encouraged this idea to be used nationwide. Lives have literally been saved as a result of Stand Downs, and we expect no less to occur during the Stand Downs now being held in Region IV."

Under the leadership of Region IV Interagency Council Chair Linda Watson, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Southeast Network, the region will be holding 31 Stand Downs in September, October, and November across a ten state area. Over one half of them will be held during the last week of October. Many of these Stand Downs will be open to all homeless individuals - not just veterans - and will offer an array of services ranging from medical and mental health screenings to haircuts, clothing, housing, treatment opportunities, employment counseling, immunizations, benefits counseling and enrollment, legal services, and so forth.

Stated Mr. German, "As well as offering help to homeless individuals, Stand Downs are a true demonstration of intergovernmental and interagency cooperation, providing an opportunity for diverse agencies and local communities to unite and share their multiple resources to aid the homeless. Across federal Region IV, the VA, DOL, HUD, HHS, and the Social Security Administration have been working closely in coordinating services at the various sites spread across the 10 states. They have been doing this in cooperation with local and state governments and with a multitude of nonprofit agencies, veterans' service organizations, and faith-based groups."

Stand Downs also present an opportunity to open up new outreach sites and to target homeless populations that may have been underserved in the past. For instance, in Atlanta, Stand Downs will be held amongst other places at the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children and at the Latin American Association. If past Stand Down attendance is any example, Region IV can expect to serve between 10- 15,000 homeless individuals at the Stand Downs being held in Region IV. Over 4,000 volunteers are expected at the Stand Downs. In kind contributions will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. And again lives will be renewed, rejuvenated and literally saved.