26 March 2013 - Late last week, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that would continue government operations until the end of the fiscal year (FY) on Sept. 30, 2013. While H.R. 933 – the “Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013” – does not sidestep sequestration, which officially took effect on March 1, it would nonetheless make a historic investment in homeless veteran-specific programs. H.R. 933 is currently awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature to become law.
snip Despite these record funding increases, some homeless veterans and service providers alike will feel the effects of sequestration. HUD has announced that its Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and Continuum of Care (CoC) programs – both of which serve veterans, among other populations – are expected to be cut by 5% overall.
Additionally, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), administered by the Department of Labor-Veterans’ Employment and Training Program (DOL-VETS), is expected to be cut by roughly $2 million. This would be a significant blow to the program, which is only funded at $38.185 million. read more>>>
May 27, 2013 - One of the saddest news reports this past holiday weekend had to have been Lizzie Warren’s story in Salon about homeless women veterans. Based on a documentary she produced, Warren writes that, “while the problem among male veterans has dropped, homelessness among women veterans has risen sharply.” Warren described women veterans as “the fastest growing homeless population in the nation.”Part of Warren’s story examines a proposed transitional housing facility for women veterans, a 15-bed facility in Connecticut that took four years to get developed against the opposition of neighbors in several towns. Earlier this month, the Home for the Brave Foundation gave up its plan to build a transitional facility for homeless women veterans in Delaware. As reported in the Delaware press, “In testifying against it, neighbors said the area was not served by public transportation or near any stores, and they worried the home’s presence would lower their own property values. Some said they also would be concerned about having their children play outside near the home.” The story of the Connecticut facility has been well documented in the press, including the story of its final approval. read more>>>
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