Helping Homeless Veterans
The Boise VA is working toward identifying landlords willing to work collaboratively with the HUD VASH team to find possible rental options for homeless veterans in the community.
In 2009, President Barack Obama and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced the goal of ending Veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. In an effort to achieve this goal, the Boise VA has been issued 180 HUD VASH vouchers to assist chronically homeless veterans, who are in need of supportive case management and assistance to maintain housing. The HUD VASH vouchers are issued in collaboration with the local housing authorities. Veterans in this program are required to pay 30% of their income toward their monthly rental obligation and landlords are provided the rest of the monthly rental obligation directly from the housing authority. This stable funding stream for landlords is one benefit of participation in this program. An additional benefit is that each veteran is assigned a master’s level clinical social worker who works closely with the veteran on goals such as how to engage in behavior that is conducive to maintaining their housing. These case managers work collaboratively with landlords to engage in creative problem solving to ensure beneficial outcomes for all involved in the HUD VASH program.
Since the creation of the HUD VASH program, the success stories of veterans who have left chronic homelessness to become successfully housed and accomplishing personal goals is astounding. And while these resources from the VA are vital in ending veteran homelessness, there is a need for ongoing collaboration and cooperation from the community. Given the competitive rental market, often times veterans who have HUD VASH vouchers are unable to secure housing options because of their credit history, their history of past evictions and felony criminal histories. The Boise VA is working toward identifying landlords willing to work collaboratively with the HUD VASH team to find possible rental options for these veterans in the community.
The Boise VA homeless team is always available to discuss housing opportunities and can answer any additional questions potential landlords may have about services and programs. If you are interested in discussing housing resources and options that you are aware of, John Randall, LMSW can be contacted at your convenience. He can be reached at (208) 422-1000 extension 7425.
