HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the new HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) “Boot Camps” workshop series on August 8. The HUD-VASH Boot Camps are meant to help public housing agencies (PHAs) and VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) improve program efficiency and more quickly move veterans experiencing homelessness to permanent housing with supportive services. The HUD-VASH program pairs Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance with case management and supportive services provided by the VA. In April 2023, HUD announced the availability of approximately $94.4 million in HUD-VASH funds, an amount expected to support as many as 11,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers.
The HUD-VASH Boot Camps are two-day, in-person workshops facilitated by HUD and VA Technical Assistance (TA) providers and led by HUD, VA, and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) representatives. Boot Camps will be held in each of HUD’s 10 regions across the country in the coming months. During the workshops, PHAs and VAMCs will identify strategies to more effectively refer veterans experiencing homelessness to HUD-VASH, issue vouchers, and lease up veterans into rental housing. The workshops will address key issues like implementing Housing First effectively, landlord engagement, understanding trauma, and effectively delivering supportive services.
The HUD-VASH Boot Camps were among those new actions intended to prevent and reduce veteran homelessness announced by the Biden administration in June (see Memo, 7/10). The actions build upon historic investments by the Biden administration that have led to significant reductions in veteran homelessness. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased by 11% since early 2020 and by more than 55% since 2010 (see Memo, 11/7). VA’s efforts to combat veteran homelessness are grounded in the evidence-based Housing First approach, which prioritizes helping veterans access housing and then providing them with voluntary wraparound services they need to stay housed – including health care, job training, legal and education assistance, and more. The new actions will advance the Biden administration’s goal to permanently house at least 38,000 veterans in 2023.
Read HUD’s press release at: https://tinyurl.com/3jb4dvm4