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July 16. When the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness met on June 18 for the first time under the Obama Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, elected at the meeting as Chair of the Council, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki announced that $75 million would soon be going to public housing authorities in the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans under the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) which combines housing resources from HUD with dedicated case management and clinical services from the VA. This week HUD announced the specific allocations to individual housing authorities of the more than 10,000 housing choice vouchers (also known as Section 8 vouchers).
"Numerous men and women voluntarily leave their families and put their lives on the line to ensure that we, their fellow Americans, live safely in our homes," said HUD Secretary Donovan. "These vouchers offer veterans a permanent home and critically needed supportive services to those who have served our nation."
"The announcement of an additional 10,290 HUD-VASH vouchers for homeless Veterans and their families allows us to take another giant step forward with a collaborative effort to reach some of the most vulnerable Veterans; including women Veterans and Veterans with children," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki "We will connect these Veterans with dedicated case managers to insure they receive the health care and benefit assistance to help them to move on with their lives with dignity."
HUD allocates the HUD-VASH designated vouchers to local public housing agencies based on a variety of factors, including the number of reported homeless Veterans and the proximity of a local VA Medical Center with the capacity to provide case management to voucher recipients. Local public housing authorities and local VA Medical Centers work collaboratively to manage the program. View the award list by state. With this week’s announcement, HUD will have provided $150 million over the last two years for 20,000 vouchers which in coordination with the VA will support the housing and service needs of homeless Veterans across America. In addition to participation in the HUD-VASH program, the VA provides medical services to more than 100,000 homeless Veterans each year. For more information about efforts to prevent and end Veteran homelessness, read story below on a recent U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing.
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