Vietnam Veterans: Homeless Veterans Committee

Homeless Veterans Committee

Annual Report

The VVA Veteran March/april 2010
by sandy miller, chair

The Homeless Veterans Committee is hopeful that VA Secretary Shinseki’s Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness provides the dollars necessary to establish new initiatives and incentives to aggressively attack the national embarrassment of veteran homelessness.

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HTF-1-07 Homeless Veterans as a “Special Needs Population”: Vietnam Veterans of America urges the Presidential Interagency Council on Homelessness to recognize homeless veterans as a Special Needs Population. Further, we urge Congress to require all entities and agencies that use federal program funding dollars to report statistics on the number of veterans they serve, their residential status, and the services needed. VVA strongly urges its members to work with their state and federal legislators to enhance services to homeless veterans and encourage them to recognize these veterans as a Special Needs Population. Additionally, VVA supports legislation that would incorporate a “fair share” dollar approach and distribution for the federal funding of all homeless programs and services to specifically target homeless veterans.

The Homeless Veterans Committee, in concert with the VVA Government Affairs Department, continues to work on this Resolution. The VA budget includes increased funding for homeless veterans and homeless veteran programs in keeping with the Secretary’s plan to end veteran homelessness in five years.

HTF-6-07 VA Homeless Grant and Per Diem Funding: Vietnam Veterans of America urges the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Homeless Grant and Per Diem Program to provide “payment for services” rather than the “reimbursement for services” it presently provides. Additionally, VVA supports and seeks legislation to establish Supportive Services Assistance Grants for VA Homeless Grant and Per Diem Service Center Grant Awardees.

Homeless Grant and Per Diem Funding methodology continues to be a top priority for the committee. This may require legislative initiatives, which the committee is prepared to pursue. Progress on this issue has been slow, but the committee remains hopeful that this will happen.

HVC-7-09 Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program To Remain at the U.S. Department of Labor and Be Fully Funded at $50M: Vietnam Veterans of America opposes the transition of the HVRP Program from the U.S. Department of Labor and believes that DOL should be held accountable for this program’s function, oversight, and performance. Additionally, VVA urges full funding to the authorized level for the HVRP program.

With the proposed addition of a fourth arm of the VA, the committee looks forward to working on ensuring HVRP dollars are not lost, regardless of where the authority for the program is seated.

HVC-8-09 Support for Continued Funding and Oversight of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services (HUD/VASH) Program: Vietnam Veterans of America strongly supports and urges the continued funding and expansion of the HUD/VASH voucher program. Further, VVA urges HUD and VA to establish a mechanism whereby oversight of the HUD/VASH voucher program will be insured so that outcomes and effectiveness of the program can be monitored.

We continue to work toward full accountability for all the dollars allocated to this program as well as placement numbers with positive outcomes. The committee has worked for many years to have the HUD/VASH voucher program funded and utilized to the greatest possible level. We look forward to the additional 10-20,000 vouchers projected for this fiscal year.

HVC-9-09 HUD Shelter Plus Care Housing Programs To Receive Supportive Service Dollars: Vietnam Veterans of America urges the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to restructure the Shelter Plus Care grant and funding process to mirror that of the Supported Housing Program process, whereby funding for supportive services is provided through the availability of operational and staffing dollars.

Change is on the way. HUD is beginning to roll both Shelter Plus Care and Supported Housing Programs together. This would create new opportunities for additional services provided to homeless veterans by non-profit groups.

The Homeless Veterans Committee: Sandy Miller, Chair; Marsha Four, Vice Chair. Members: Ric Davidge, Jerry Yamamoto, Pat Bessigano, TP Hubert, Tom Berger, and Frances Rowan. AVVA: Suzanne Blohm-Weber and Nancy Switzer. Special Advisor: John Driscoll. Staff Liaison: Sharon Hodge.

National Call Center for Homeless Veterans

Department of Veterans Affairs

Homeless Veteran in need of help?

Call 1-877-4AID VET (1-877-424-3838)

The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) has founded a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans hotline to ensure that homeless Veterans or Veterans at-risk for homelessness have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. The hotline is intended to assist homeless Veterans and their families, VA Medical Centers, federal, state and local partners, community agencies, service providers and others in the community. To be connected with a trained VA staff member call 1-877-4AID VET (877-424-3838).

    * Call for yourself or someone else
    * Free and confidential
    * Trained VA counselors to assist
    * Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
    * We have information about VA homeless programs and mental health services in your area that can help you.

What will happen when I call?

    * You will be connected to a trained VA staff member.
    * Hotline staff will conduct a brief screen to assess your needs.
    * Homeless Veterans will be connected with the Homeless Point of Contact at the nearest VA facility.
    * Family members and non-VA providers calling on behalf of a homeless Veteran will be provided with information regarding the homeless programs and services available.
    * Contact information will be requested so staff may follow-up.

Get more information: http://www1.va.gov/HOMELESS/NationalCallCenter.asp

How can the local community contribute to the vision of preventing and ending homelessness?

The following are questions USICH has broadly discussed in its stakeholder meetings. These are just suggested questions for you to think about:

What do we need to understand about the scope, costs, and causes of chronic homelessness?
What should be the key goals and strategies of the plan that will take us toward the vision “no one should experience homelessness"?

Click here to get more information or participate.

Buyer-Boozman Bill Sparks Action to Help Homeless Women Veterans

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressmen Steve Buyer and John Boozman expressed appreciation that a line item in the President's 2011 budget request reflects their legislative efforts to provide assistance to homeless women veterans.

The U.S. Department of Labor fiscal year 2011 budget request for its Veteran Employment and Training Service (VETS) includes an additional $5 million to help homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children. The request is similar to the Buyer and Boozman provisions, which were unanimously approved by the House of Representatives last year.

[ Read the press release ]

White House Officials Help Break Ground on New Transitional Housing Facility for Homeless Female Veterans

Orlando, Fla. – Federal and local officials today broke ground on Operation Home Front, a new transitional housing facility, run by the Center for Drug-free Living, for homeless female veterans and their children in Cocoa, Florida.

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); Tammy Duckworth, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs; and Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, provided remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for Operation Home Front.

“Far too many brave women who served their country are returning home with physical, mental health, and substance abuse problems that impact their ability to maintain strong families,” said Director Kerlikowske. “Family-based treatment programs like Operation Home Front fulfill an important need in coordinating comprehensive services for mothers and their children. The families who will live here will receive an array of effective services, dignity, hope, and new opportunity.”

“In today’s military, women assume responsibilities and leadership roles that were not possible in the past,” said Assistant Secretary Duckworth. “When they return from the battlefield, we have a solemn duty to care for the needs of women Veterans and to understand the mental and physical wounds of war. The Center for Drug-Free Living will provide essential services for our Nation’s growing number of women Veterans and their families.”

“This facility is an excellent example of public and private partnerships all across the country that support the brave women who have served in our military,” said Deputy Assistant to the President Tina Tchen. “Operation Home Front will help meet an important need, and embodies this Administration’s commitment to healthier families and a stronger Nation.”

Funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Florida Department of Children and Families, Operation Home Front will be a $1,638,020 million, 8,486 sq. ft., transitional housing facility that will include seven units with two bedrooms per unit and common living and dining areas. The facility will provide housing and substance use/mental health disorder services for 28 homeless, female veterans and their children.

The Center for Drug-Free Living, Inc. is a comprehensive, behavioral health services organization. Its mission is to “Promote Healthy Responsible Lifestyles.” The Center has been serving Central Florida for more than 37 years, providing prevention, intervention and treatment to individuals and families coping with substance use and mental health disorders, juvenile delinquency, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other behavioral health issues.

For more information visit: www.WhiteHouseDrugPolicy.gov

COMMITTEE REPORT:
Legislative Developments

BY SANDY MILLER, CHAIR I want to thank VVA President John Rowan for reappointing me chair of the Homeless Veterans Committee. We have been given our direction for the next two years by the delegates at the National Convention in Louisville and will move forward on behalf of our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

I also have been reappointed to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Advisory Committee for Homeless Veterans for another two-year term. I have been an active member of the Advisory Committee since 2003.

[ read full article ]

Homeless Veterans Committee MEETING MINUTES Crowne Plaza Hotel 8 October 2009 5:00 – 7:00 PM [ Download the Minutes - PDF ]

News from the National alliance to end homelessness HUD Releases 2008 Homelessness Data

Last Thursday, July 9, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, which reveals virtually no change from 2007 to 2008 in the level of overall homelessness. The report, the fourth of its kind, includes point-in-time count data from January 2008 and twelve months of shelter use data that comes from Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) in over 200 communities. This is the first release of national homelessness data that was collected since unemployment began increasing up in the Spring 2007 and since the recession began in Fall 2007. The result appears to suggest that the economy is having an impact of homelessness, as the "no change" result reflects an abrupt halt to the decreases in family, chronic, and overall homeless measured from 2005 to 2007. The full report can be downloaded from the HUD website. You can also view the Alliance's press release and blog post for more information about the findings and the Alliance's response. A presentation on these results by the authors of the report will occur during the "New Data on Homelessness" workshop at the Alliance's National Conference of Ending Homelessness later this month.

[ Download the Report ]

More female veterans are winding up homeless
Reported in The Globe

The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show.

And unlike their male counterparts, many have the added burden of being single parents.

[ Read complete article ]

HUD OFFERS PERMANENT HOMES FOR MORE THAN 10,000 HOMELESS VETS
$75 million HUD-VASH program to provide rental housing and support services

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today the final allocations of more than 10,000 vouchers to local public housing authorities across the country to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans.

For a local breakdown of the rental vouchers announced today, visit HUD's website.

"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 Shaun Donovan, who announced the $75 million in funding last month with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "These vouchers offer veterans a permanent home and critically needed supportive services to those who have served our nation."

[ Read press release ]

national coalition for homeless veterans e-newsletter (july 2009)

VA Seeks Proposals For Enhanced Use Lease for New Jersey Site

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced the availability of Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) opportunities at the Lyons, NJ VA Campus. VA seeks to competitively select a private developer to lease one 91,303 square- foot building or approximately 16 acres of vacant space located on the campus. The successful private EUL bidder(s) will provide VA with in-kind consideration that includes the development and operation of new supportive housing units with on-site supportive services for individuals and/or families. Such units and services will be provided to Veterans, who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, on a priority basis.

The Final RFP is now available for review. Responses are due to VA by September 4, 2009. For more information on EUL, click here.

[ Read the rest of the E-Newsletter ]

America's Homeless Vets, a Causality of Epidemic Proportions

The situation with Vietnam era veterans (Vets) is immoral, deplorable, and ongoing! This is a call to our government and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to update our benefits equal to other veterans, including current educational grants; employment training and placement; and guaranteed VA housing loans!

Vietnam Vets need to keep their homes, re-education, and updated work skills. The golden years aren’t so golden and we have extended responsibilities, e.g. supporting ourselves beyond 62; helping our middle-aged children stay financially afloat; and in many cases… raising our grandchildren. The retirement age has been extended, now extend VA benefits to meet current living conditions. Help reduce poverty and homelessness, don’t continue to add to it!

Read the rest of the article.

Homeless Veterans e-newsletters

VA Announces Per Diem Awards for Homeless Assistance

See article

Homeless Veterans COMMITTEE REPORT
The VVA Veteran
May/June 2009

Homeless Veteran Award

BY SANDY MILLER, CHAIR
The Bobby J Award is presented annually to a formerly homeless veteran who has exemplified commitment, embraced change, and provided inspiration to other veterans.

Bobby J was a formerly homeless veteran in recovery, living in a transitional residence, who exhibited great courage not only in battling his addiction, but also in his battle with Agent Orange-related cancer. Bobby J never gave up the fight. He died in December 2001.

Nominees for the Bobby J Award must meet the following criteria:

• Must have been homeless

• Must have completed a homeless domiciliary or transitional program

• Must have obtained and maintained housing in the community for at least a year

• Must be nominated by a VVA entity

Those who submit nominations must include:

• A copy of the nominee’s DD-214 or other proof of military service

• Proof of program completion

• A written nomination letter of not more than 500 words

Nominations will be accepted until June 15. Send nomination packets to: Sandra Miller, HVC Chair, P.O. Box 557, Douglassville, PA 19518

The Homeless Veterans Committee will present a life membership in either VVA or AVVA. For additional information, email smiller@vva.org

Before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Regarding Ending Homelessness for our Nation’s Veterans

April 9, 2008

Mr. Chairman, and members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, my name is Sandra A. Miller. I served as a senior enlisted woman in the U.S. Navy from 1975 until 1981 and I currently chair Vietnam Veterans of America’s (VVA) Homeless Veterans Committee. Perhaps more importantly, I work with homeless veterans as the daily Program Coordinator of a transitional residence, one of the many programs provided by The Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service & Education Center. Our transitional residence receives funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Grant and Per Diem Program (HGPD) and operates under a shared lease agreement on the grounds of the Coatesville VA Medical Center.

On behalf of VVA, I thank you and your colleagues for this opportunity to submit testimony sharing our views on the status of homeless assistance programs for veterans conducted by the VA.

Homelessness continues to be a significant problem for veterans. The VA estimates about one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services. Current population estimates suggest that about 154,000 veterans (male and female) are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.

Federal efforts regarding homeless veterans must be particularly vigorous for women veterans with minor children in their care. And those federal agencies that have responsibilities in addressing this situation, particularly the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, must work in concert and should be held accountable for achieving clearly defined results.

[ Read testimony ]