HUD Reaches out to Veterans in Johnson City

Left to right: Congressman (Dr.) Phil Roe, Ed Ellis, HUD Knoxville Field Office Director and Walter Perry, TN State Director - (SBA) Office

Veteran outreach took on renewed meaning as Congressman Phil Roe, (R-TN1) recently hosted at the Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church, Johnson City, TN, along with staff from the HUD Knoxville Office a panel discussion addressing the needs of veterans. In attendance were approximately 100 veterans at the Northeast Tennessee Veterans Outreach Event entitled "Services for Those Who Have Served".

"All of us, in Tennessee and throughout the country, have lived with ten plus years of war in the Middle East. Many of us have also seen our love ones called on to serve multiple times. The least we can do along with our other partners here today is to provide our services and support to those who have served our Nation," said Ed Ellis HUD Knoxville, Field Office Director.

Presentations were made by Congressman (Dr.) Phil Roe and the Mayor of Johnson City, TN, Dr. Ralph Van Brocklin; Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. Panel discussions included the US Small Business Administration (SBA (www.sba.gov/)), US Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs (VA (www.va.gov/)) and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/), along with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (https://www.tsbdc.org/), College of Business and Technology, East Tennessee State University. Topics included housing opportunities for veterans, job opportunities for veterans, and business start-up and financial assistance to veterans.

The HUD Knoxville staff responded to veteran questions which were mostly focused about how to sell HUD Homes, and how to apply for a reverse mortgage. Local media coverage also provided a wider awareness of the services available to veterans, too.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Oct 1, 2014 more than $62 million to help more than 9,000 homeless veterans find permanent supportive housing. The rental assistance announced today is provided through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA. See the local impact of the housing assistance.

Last month, HUD, VA and USICH also released a new national estimate of veteran homelessness in the United States. In January of 2013, thousands of cities and counties across the country reported 49,933 homeless veterans, a decline of 33 percent (or 24,837 people) since 2010. This includes a nearly 40 percent drop in the number of unsheltered veterans sleeping on the street.

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