Photo by rjs1322.
A coalition of nine government and non-profit agencies, working toward the federal goal of ending veteran homelessness in D.C. by 2015, say they’re on track to house over 400 homeless veterans by the end of March.
Veterans NOW — a team made up of The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, The Department of Veterans Affairs, the D.C. Housing Authority, the Department of Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Miriam’s Kitchen, Pathways to Housing DC, Community Solutions and Friendship Place — housed 207 veterans between August 9 and November 31, 2013, including 96 who were chronically homeless. This in a city where, according to the 2013 point-in-time count, 499 veterans were homeless on a single night — a six percent decline since 2012 and a 29 percent decline since 2009.
These veterans were housed through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), HUD Permanent Supportive Housing and the D.C. DHS Permanent Supportive Housing program.
Since 2009, 809 HUD-VASH vouchers have been issued in D.C., according to Kevin Morton from the Department of Veteran Affairs. And through eight agencies, $6.5 million in SSVF has been provided for prevention and rapid-rehousing in the D.C. region, serving 2,300 veterans.
Today was the official kickoff of Veterans NOW, which was marked by a proclamation from Mayor Vince Gray. While the mayor wasn’t in attendance at today’s forum, Matt Cary, Director of the D.C. Office of D.C. Veteran Affairs, shared his support.
The key to the success of this coalition, according to those involved, is cooperation, strategy and integration. All veterans are asked to fill out a universal service prioritization decision assistance tool, which asks about their history of homelessness, risks (“Have you been attacked or beaten up since becoming homeless?”), socialization (“Do any friends, family or other people in your life ever … get you to do things you really don’t want to do?”) and wellness. The person is then scored to see if permanent supportive housing or rapid re-housing is recommended. Fifty staff members at 20 agencies were trained to use this tool.
This information is centralized in a Homeless Management Information Systems database, and providers then coordinate services.
Another crucial aspect is cutting down the time between when veterans are assessed and when they’re housed. “The D.C. Housing Authority is providing the VA with pre-inspected units, which cut in half the time it takes to do outreach, application, and lease up for VASH voucher holders,” according to Veterans NOW.
Between January and March 31 of this year, the coalition wants to end homelessness for 190 veterans, including 56 who are chronically homeless. David Tweedie, HMIS coordinator for the Community Partnership, said in 86 days, 161 veterans have already been housed, including 84 who are chronically homeless. At this rate, the goal will be met by March 11 and 226 veterans will be housed by March 31.
It’s estimated that 1,625 homeless veterans will need housing assistance by 2015, including 500 who will need permanent supportive housing and 1,125 who need rapid re-housing or a similar program.
Of course, there are challenges facing this program, namely finding apartments for veterans in the neighborhood of their choice as 1,000 people move to the city each month. Part of solving this involves landlord outreach. Ron McCoy from the D.C. Housing Authority they were able to find over 200 units in two days for veterans after putting out a call to landlords who partner with the authority. “The response was immediate and swift,” McCoy said. Now they hold meet-and-greets between landlords and homeless veterans.
Adrianne Todman, executive director of the D.C. Housing Authority, joked that providing money for housing homeless veterans seems to be the only thing Congress can agree upon. But Kurt Runge from Miriram’s Kitchen warned that federal money won’t be enough. Local investment in ending veteran homelessness, to the tune of $5.9 million over the next two fiscal years, will be needed to meet the goal.
