VA Pledges $100 Million To Help Homeless Veterans

WASHINGTON, Jul 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today the award of nearly $100 million in grants that will help approximately 42,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. The grants are going to 151 community agencies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

"We are committed to ending Veteran homelessness in America," said Shinseki. "These grants will help VA and community organizations reach out and prevent at-risk Veterans from losing their homes."

Under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families 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. Those community organizations provide a range of services that promote housing stability among eligible very low income Veteran families.

Under the grants, homeless providers will offer Veterans and their family members outreach, case management, assistance in obtaining VA benefits and assistance in getting other public benefits. Community-based groups can offer temporary financial assistance on behalf of Veterans for rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs.

This is the program's second year. Last year, VA provided about $60 million to assist 22,000 Veterans and family members.

In 2009, President Obama and Secretary Shinseki announced the federal government's goal to end Veteran homelessness by 2015. The grants are intended to help accomplish that goal. According to the 2011 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, homelessness among Veterans has declined 12 percent since January 2010.

Through the homeless Veterans initiative, VA committed $800 million in FY 2011 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.

More information about VA's homeless programs is available on the Internet at www.va.gov/homeless . Details about the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program are online at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp .

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

        
        U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 
        Office of Public Affairs 
        Media Relations 
        202-461-7600
        

---- Jerald Terwilliger Past Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Veterans Remain Homeless Longer Than Non-veterans

Veterans who become homeless tend to stay homeless for longer periods than non-veterans, according to a new national survey by a nonprofit advocacy group. They’re also more likely to suffer from serious health conditions leading to death.


The survey of 23,000 homeless people was released Tuesday by the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a nonprofit coalition of local community groups combating homelessness. The survey found that, although veterans make up 9% of the country’s population, they accounted for more than 15% of the homeless people surveyed.

“We’ve known that veterans were particularly at risk to become homeless, but now we know that they’re more likely to stay homeless and face life-threatening conditions on the street,” the campaign’s director, Becky Kanis, said in a statement. “The data paint a picture of an extremely at-risk population that is unlikely to get off the streets without targeted help."

Among the other findings:

-Veterans reported being homeless an average of 5.7 years, compared with 3.9 years reported by non-veterans.

-More than 6 out of 10 veterans reported being homeless more than two years, versus half of non-veterans.

-Among the 12,500 people who said they had been homeless for more than two years, veterans averaged nine years, compared with 7.3 years for non-veterans.

-Of those, 3 out of 4 veterans reported a substance abuse habit, and nearly two-thirds reported a serious physical health condition.

-55% of homeless veterans reported health conditions linked to heightened mortality risk, versus 44% of non-veterans.

-21% of veterans surveyed were at least 60 years old, compared with 9% for non-veterans. The report said age did not entirely explain why veterans stayed homeless for longer periods.

-Homeless veterans were 11% more likely than non-veterans to suffer from a life-threatening condition, including liver or kidney disease, or frequent frostbite.

-Among veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 27% reported traumatic brain injuries, compared with 19% of other veterans. The signature insurgent weapon in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been roadside bombs, which typically cause traumatic brain injuries in addition to loss of limbs among service members who survive the explosions.

-46% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans surveyed reported receiving mental health treatment, versus 41%  for other veterans. The Pentagon has become more attuned in recent years to the need for mental health treatment and counseling for service members returning from combat.

The organization said its survey is the first to be based on face-to-face interviews with homeless veterans across the country. It was conducted by 2,500 trained volunteers in 47 communities.

The 100,000 Homes Campaign has set a goal of securing housing for 100,000 homeless people by July2013. It says it has found permanent homes for 11,244 people as of this week. The group works with the VA and community agencies in Los Angeles and New York to speed up the process of finding housing for the homeless.

The new survey mirrored a profile of homeless veterans provided in an annual report by two government agencies issued late last month. That report, by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, put the number of homeless veterans at 144,000 in 2010.

The federal report found that veterans under 30 were twice as likely to become homeless as non-veterans of the same age. Veterans made up 13% of homeless adults in shelters, according to the government survey.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"


---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

LA County Says Homeless Decreased, Except For Veterans

In January Los Angeles county conducted a survey of homeless people and said there was
a 3 percent decline. The figure was 51,430 which included 23,359 in the city of Los Angeles.

While that is good news, the bad news is that homelessness among veterans who comprise 18 percent
of all homeless, up from 15 percent in 2009. More veterans over 62 and a rising rate for those
18 to 24 years old returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. And the homeless rate for female
veterans rose 51 percent from 601 in 2009 to 909 in 2011.

Service providers for the homeless said these figures may not be accurate. Andy Bales, president
of downtown's Union Rescue Mission said "This is a best guesstimate based on a partial count
and a very specific definition of homelessness."

According to guidelines set by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department homeless
people are defined as those living in emergency shelters and transitional housing. It also includes
those living in places not fit for human habitation, such as sidewalks, cars and abandoned
buildings. This does not count those who are living with family or friends.

So the veteran continues be among the downtrodden and misplaced and forgotten.

This injustice has to end, our country must do the right thing and do it now. Our veterans are
a very important part of our nation and our culture.

Please contact your elected officials, tell them our veterans deserve the best from our country,
we owe them our freedom, and we owe them our thanks, and we owe them the care and help
they so richly deserve.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

$28 Million to Help Homeless and at Risk Veterans

On Thursday June 2, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced that 122 grants worth over
$28 million to provide assistance to almost 17,000 who are homeless or at risk to become homeless
with job training to assist them in obtaining civilian careers.

The grants which include funding in Wyoming, Iowa, Colorado and Missouri were awarded by the
U.S. Department of Labor and the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. This will continue
already successful programs into their second and third years.

Included are $4,335,775 for the Homeless Female Veterans with families Programs, and $3,882,443
for the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program, which will help veterans who have served
time in justice facilities.

Secretary Solis said "The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program is recognized as an
extraordinarily efficient and effective program and is the only federal program that focuses
exclusively on employment of veterans who are homeless. I am pleased that the department can
assist these veterans and their families."

Homeless veterans using the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program can receive classroom and
on-the-job-training as well as job search and placement services.

Second and third year funds are being awarded to state and local workforce boards, local public
agencies and nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and community groups, that
demonstrated through the first years funding that they can effectively administer programs and
are familiar with the population and geographic areas that are being served.

Grantees under this program must coordinate with the various local, state and federal social
service providers.

For more information please go to the Department of Labor's unemployment and re-employment
for veterans at http://www.dol.gov/vets

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996