Joshua Stewart, director of policy at National Center for Homeless Veterans, speaks during a homeless summit at The American Legion Washington Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Photo by Andy Proffet / The American Legion.

Homeless summit aims for VA program recommendations

A range of homeless advocates discussed recommendations for Department of Veterans Affairs’ homeless programs at a summit Wednesday at The American Legion’s Washington Conference in Washington, D.C.

Joshua Stewart, director of policy at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, said the summit was a chance to pull expertise from different backgrounds and work toward a consensus on addressing issues facing homeless veterans. The document the group is working toward will address the VA’s homeless programs along with programmatic and policy recommendations.

The group recognized that it would best be served to modify existing programs rather than proposing new programs. Those programs include HUD-VASH, which combines HUD housing vouchers with VA supportive services; Supportive Services for Veteran Families, which provides case management and supportive services for very low income veterans; the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program, through which the VA funds some 600 agencies providing over 14,500 beds for eligible veterans; and others.

The group discussed the challenge of coordinating local programs when there’s a limited financial pool, likely funneled through one agency, which in turns prompts other agencies to be less involved. So it can be important to find ways to get those other agencies involved.

There’s also a need to address housing and employment together, the group noted. Referencing the “Housing First” model of the HUD-VASH program, it was noted that it could be “Housing First, Employment Next.”

Still, there’s a portion of the population that can’t work which still needs housing. That affects the affordable housing discussion, so finding a way to acknowledge that population is important, the group said.

The group included representatives from The American Legion, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, National Alliance to End Homelessness, American Bar Association, National League of Cities, VFW, VVA, PVA, Community Solutions and Atlas Research.