Legion to evalute VA’s homelessness progress

The American Legion will host a Homeless Veterans Workshop in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24 at the Hilton Washington Hotel as part of the organization’s annual Washington Conference. A roundtable discussion will evaluate VA’s progress on its five-year plan to end veteran homelessness, and representatives from the Department of Labor and Housing and Urban Development will be on hand to present the successes of government initiatives that have been created to serve homeless veterans. Community service providers will also be in attendance to discuss local-level programs and to lead a tour of a local homelessness service provider or VA facility.

The workshop, which begins at 10 a.m., will commence two days before the Washington Conference’s official start. Attendees will review VA’s progress on a promise that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki made nearly two years ago to end veteran homelessness during his tenure. The pledge originally drew criticism for its grandiosity, but some headway appears to have been toward its accomplishment as a VA and HUD report found last month that homelessness among veterans dropped 12 percent in the 2010 calendar year.

The Legion also asks that posts and departments participate by sending to the Legion’s Economic Division any accounts that they may have of assistance they’ve given to homeless or low-income veterans during the holiday season. Such accounts could be used in the division’s weekly updates and reports. They can be emailed to the Economic Division at econ@legion.org.