The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are helping more than 9,000 homeless veterans find permanent supportive housing.
The two agencies announced $62 million in rental assistance through the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. The HUD-VASH program combines HUD’s rental assistance with the VA’s case management and clinical services, and veterans participating in the program generally don’t pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent.
HUD is awarding $57 million for 8,276 tenant-based vouchers for rental units in the private market and $5 million for 730 project-based vouchers for existing units or new construction. In August, HUD and the VA announced an additional $7 million to 24 local public housing authorities to provide HUD-VASH vouchers for nearly 1,000 homeless veterans.
More than 59,000 vouchers have been awarded through the HUD-VASH program since 2008. In addition, President Obama has requested an additional $75 million for HUD-VASH vouchers in his fiscal 2014 budget request to Congress.
“As long as there remains a single veteran living on our streets, there is more work to be done,” says VA Secretary Robert McDonald. “HUD-VASH vouchers are a vital tool in our efforts to reduce veteran homelessness.”
