HUD, VA AND SENATOR PATTY MURRAY ANNOUNCE $15 MILLION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO PREVENT VETERAN HOMELESSNESS
Tacoma-Pierce County Continuum of Care VA at American Lakes to Receive
$3 Million for Veteran Homelessness Prevention near Join Base Lewis-McChord Area

WASHINGTON - In an effort to prevent homelessness among veterans, primarily those returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray today announced that both agencies will invest a combined $15 million
in five selected communities near military installations. The HUD and VA grant funding is intended to provide housing assistance and supportive services to veterans who might otherwise be living in homeless shelters or on the streets.

Under the new Veterans Homelessness Prevention Demonstration Program (VHPD), existing HUD grantees or Continuums of Care located near the following military installations will each receive $2 million: MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida; Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas; Fort Drum in Watertown,
New York; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington. In addition, VA medical centers in the following areas will each receive $1 million in VA funds: Tampa, San Diego, Dallas, Syracuse, New York; and American Lake in Washington.

"The men and women who serve our nation deserve better than a life on the streets when they return home," said HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims. "These grants represent a first step toward designing the best interventions
possible so that we can prevent homelessness for those heroes who sacrificed so much for us. It is also another
step forward toward reaching President Obamas goal of preventing and ending homelessness in all its forms."

VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki added, "While usually the strongest and most resilient of Americans, Veterans still represent a disproportionate share of Americas jobless, homeless, depressed, substance abusers, and suicides. Nowhere is our obligation to our citizens, and to our Veterans who have defended our Nation, more important, more visible, or more necessary than in our commitment to prevent and end homelessness."

"This effort is about reaching veterans and their families who are transitioning home and struggling to readjust,"
said Senator Patty Murray, who established VHPD in the Fiscal Year 2009 Housing Appropriations bill. "By providing access to stable housing, health care, and job training and outreach services this program provides targeted
support to our heroes who are returning home to a difficult economic climate. All veterans deserve housing and
the dignity that comes with it and this is another step to reach those who have sacrificed so much."

"We have an obligation to serve those who have served us so bravely and so well," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride. "These funds and this collaboration will do much to insure that our men and women in uniform have home to return to from the battlefield."

Through this combination of housing, health care and employment services provided through the U.S. Department
of Labor, VHPD is designed to explore innovative early interventions to help prevent veteran homelessness, targeted to service members returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three-year grants announced today will help the five identified communities or Continuums of Care to use and track client-level data provided by the VA and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to target veterans who meet the eligibility criteria. VA will act as the primary liaison to the grantee and will provide eligible Veterans with access to
VA health care and benefits. HUD funds will provide short- or medium-term rental assistance, including security deposits, utility payments and case management. In addition, the program will offer community-based supportive services appropriate for veterans and their families, including child care and family services.

VHPD is also intended to improve the understanding of the unique needs of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. HUD anticipates that it will take approximately ninety (90) days from the date these grant agreements are signed for selected grantees to be able to identify and serve veteran individuals and/or families who qualify for assistance under VHPD.

VHPD also supports the Obama Administrations far-reaching and ambitious strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Last month, HUD and 18 other federal agencies unveiled Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families, and youth by 2020.

In addition, over the last three years HUD has awarded some 950 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) rental assistance vouchers to housing authorities across Washington state to increase the supply of affordable rental housing for homeless veterans seeking assistance from VA medical centers in their communities.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.