HUD Joins Rep. Steve Israel at Veterans Housing Summit

Acting Regional Administrator Mirza Orriols, CPD Director Vincent Hom and HUD Housing Choice Voucher Director Christopher Ingram listen to Rep. Steve Israel

On August 26, Acting Regional Administrator Mirza Orriols joined Rep. Steve Israel (NY-03) at a Homeless Veterans Housing Summit hosted by the congressman at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, Long Island. The summit featured experts in housing and veterans services who discussed solution-based approaches to combatting the crisis of veterans homelessness. Howard Kimmel, Chairman of the Kimmel Housing Development Foundation; US Department of Veteran Affairs representatives Rose Williamson & Amanda Solowski; Vincent Hom, Director of HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development; and, Christopher Ingram, HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program Director, completed a panel that answered veteran and stakeholder questions, and listened to their concerns and suggestions for eradicating veteran homelessness in Suffolk and Nassau Counties.

In 2010, the Obama Administration launched Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Plan has ambitious goals of ending chronic homelessness and homelessness among veterans by 2015; ending homelessness for families, youth and children by 2020; and, setting a path to eliminating all types of homelessness in the United States.

In May, Nassau and Suffolk Counties received 65 new HUD/VASH Housing Choice Vouchers awarded to the Northport Veterans Administration Medical Center.

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