By Joseph Picard: Subscribe to Joseph's RSS feed
June 3, 2010 8:03 PM EDT
Nearly 8,000 homeless veterans will receive permanent housing vouchers, according to an announcement today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
"Though they served and sacrificed so much for our country, too many of our veterans find themselves on the streets and in homeless shelters," said Donovan, in a prepared statement. "Thankfully, these vouchers will provide a more permanent solution to housing and services these veterans need."
HUD is making $58.6 million available to various state and city agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, that work with Veterans Administration Medical Centers to be used exclusively to subsidize housing for eligible veterans.
"The homeless vet needs to be plugged into the VA system in order to receive the voucher," said Donna White, a spokesperson for HUD. "The VA's only requirement is that the veteran participate in a VA case management program."
White explained that the vouchers are permanent in the sense that, as long as the veteran meets the income eligibility standards, he or she will retain the subsidy.
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"If the vet's income rises and he can support himself, he may stay in that home, but he will no longer receive the subsidy," White said. "The voucher will return to the state agency. However, it may only be used to subsidize housing for another homeless veteran."
According to the VA, there are 107,000 homeless veterans in America who are enrolled in VA programs. How many homeless veterans there actually are in the United States is much more difficult to determine.
The Urban Institute estimates that that there are between 2.3 million and 3.5 million homeless people in the United States and 23 percent of them are veterans, putting the estimate between 529,000 and 820,000.
"Many, many veterans are shelter-resistant, treatment-resistant and program-resistant," said Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "They are not in the system, and not counted."
Neil Donovan added that America is not unique in having a homeless population, but that homelessness is treated differently in different cultures.
"In the U.S., at least our safety net is cross cultural," he said. "In some nations, when you are homeless you are shunned and you will never be able to return to normal society. In others, if you are from the non-wealthy or non-white part of society and you become homeless, there are no programs to assist you."
HUD's release said the department expects to announce a second round of funding for another 1,355 rental vouchers next month.
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