NOVEMBER 15, 2016, WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced $18.5 million to 39 local public housing agencies across the country to help homeless Veterans find permanent homes for an estimated 2,100 veterans experiencing homelessness. The supportive housing assistance announced today is provided through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA.
The HUD-VASH Project Based Vouchers (PBVs) being awarded today are attached to specific existing, new construction or rehabilitated units. These vouchers will preserve affordable housing and ensure that persons who need services to live a stable life in their own homes receive them. See local funding chart below.
“Housing our nation’s veterans has been a top priority of this Administration, and one at which we’ve been particularly successful,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that those who have served their country in uniform have a home, and these vouchers will expand our success in ending veteran homelessness as we know it.”
“Increasing the supply of affordable housing is one of the keys to ending Veteran homelessness,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “The project-based HUD-VASH vouchers announced today will increase the availability of affordable housing for the most vulnerable homeless Veterans in communities across the U.S. and ensure they have access to VA case management and supportive services to remain stably housed.”
In June, HUD awarded nearly $38 million to help more than 5,200 homeless veterans find homes. That funding ensured that communities could provide the critically needed housing assistance and case management services to those veterans and their families experiencing homelessness. In August, HUD announced that veteran homelessness in the U.S. was cut nearly in half since 2010. Read more about the effort to end veteran homelessness.
Since 2010, the Obama Administration and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) launched the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness. Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness serves as a roadmap for how the federal government will work with state and local communities to confront the root causes of homelessness, especially among former servicemen and women.
More than 79,000 vouchers have been awarded and approximately 111,000 homeless veterans have been served through the HUD-VASH program since 2008. Rental assistance and supportive services provided through HUD-VASH are a critical resource for local communities in ending homelessness among our nation’s veterans.
In the HUD-VASH program, VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) assess veterans experiencing homelessness before referring them to local housing agencies for these vouchers. Decisions are based on a variety of factors, most importantly the duration of homelessness and the need for longer term, more intensive support in obtaining and maintaining permanent housing. The HUD-VASH program includes both the rental assistance the voucher provides and the comprehensive case management that VAMC staff offers.
Veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. VA offers eligible homeless veterans clinical and supportive services through its medical centers across the U.S., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.