I don’t know about you but homelessness is one of the causes that pulls strongest on my heart strings. I often tell people, you just never if homelessness can affect your family. A few months ago, while volunteering at a local men’s homeless shelter, I spent some time just talking to the men and many of them were normal working people, lost their job and just couldn’t climb back. I remember one man telling me that he had a home and a girlfriend, he lost his job, spent four months looking for another one but due to his criminal record kept getting turned away and eventually his girlfriend put him out. I remember thinking that at all times I should be counting my blessings and doing what I can to help my fellow man. One thing I can’t get over as it relates to homelessness is the amount of men and women that are homeless veterans, I’m like seriously these people served our country put their lives on the line for our lives and they have no place to live. It’s heartbreaking, but here are the facts, 1 in 4 homeless men are veterans and the Veterans Administration estimates that on any given night that more than 300,000 veterans are homeless. But alas there is some good news, President Obama and the VA have a goal to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015 and to do it, they are putting their money where their mouth is. Last week the Department of Veterans Affairs has announced two new grants to support Secretary Eric K. Shinseki’s goal of ending veterans’ homelessness in 2015. Under these new programs, homeless providers can apply for funding to enhance the facilities used to serve homeless veterans, and acquire vans to facilitate transportation of this population.
“Those who have served this nation as veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope,” said Secretary Shinseki. “Homeless prevention grants provide community partners with the opportunity to help prevent and end homelessness on the local level. This is a crucial tool to get at-risk veterans and their families on the road to stable, secure lives.”
Approximately $22 million in rehabilitation funds will be available to current operational grant and per diem grantees as part of the effort to increase the useful life of the facilities previously funded under the program. VA expects current grant and per diem grantees will apply for funding to rehabilitate their current project location and enhance the safety, security and privacy issues associated with the homeless Veteran populations they serve.
A maximum of $250,000 is available per award and the award will not be more than 65 percent of the estimated total cost of the rehabilitation activity. VA has established funding priorities to support its oldest capitally funded projects. In addition, approximately $2 million in funds will be available for current operational grant and per diem grantees to assist in the acquisition of vans in order to facilitate transportation of veteran participants to medical appointments, employment opportunities in the community, and facilitate grantees’ outreach activities.
The maximum award for a van will be $35,000. The amount of the award will not exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the van. Applications for both awards are due to the grant and per diem office by no later than 4 p.m. Eastern time on June 28, 2013. This funding is available under VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program for current operational grant and per diem grantees. The Grant and Per Diem Program provides community-based organizations with funding to develop and operate transitional housing and supportive services for homeless Veterans. The Grant and Per Diem Program has more than 15,000 operational transitional housing beds nationwide.
The 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, prepared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated there were 62,619 homeless veterans on a single night in January 2012 in the United States, a 7.2 percent decline since 2011 and a 17.2 percent decline since 2009. The AHAR reports on the extent and nature of homelessness in America. Included in the report is the annual point-in-time (PIT) count, which measures the number of homeless persons in the U.S. on a single night in January 2012, including the number of homeless veterans.
Additional information is available at http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/GPD.asp or contact the Grant and Per Diem National Program Office at 877-332-0334.
