Press release, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Midwest:
In an effort to help homeless Veterans and their families find permanent housing, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded $14 million in HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers to 66 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across the country for over 1,400 vouchers. The City of Evansville Housing Authority was awarded $143,255. Please see the full list of awardees here.
“HUD is committed to ending Veteran homelessness once and for all,” said Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “These HUD-VASH voucher awards help us to reach that goal. We will continue to work with our local Veterans Affairs Medical Center partners at public housing agencies across the country so we can get Veterans and their families off the streets and into affordable housing.”
“One Veteran experiencing homelessness will always be one too many — and we will do everything in our power to ensure that Veterans get the safe, stable housing they deserve,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “HUD-VASH has been one of the most effective tools in our toolkit, empowering VA and HUD to provide more housing and wraparound services to more homeless and at-risk Veterans than ever before. Together, we will not rest until Veteran homelessness is a thing of the past.”
This collaboration between HUD and the VA to provide housing assistance combined with comprehensive support services shows our unified commitment to honor our obligation to the men and women of the U.S. Military Services,” said Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane M. Shelley. “Together we strive to provide a beacon of hope, ensuring that those who served our nation find not only a home, but a pathway to a brighter, more secure future.
The HUD-VASH program provides housing and an array of supportive services to Veterans experiencing homelessness by combining rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“As President Biden reminds us, our one truly sacred obligation is to the men and women of the United States Military Services,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard J. Monocchio. “The continued success of the HUD-VASH program stands as a testament to our collective devotion to caring for Veterans and their families when they return home. At HUD we are committed to continuing to strengthen the HUD-VASH program to serve as many Veterans as possible.”
Through this program, HUD and the VA aim to end homelessness by assisting Veterans and their families in obtaining permanent and sustainable housing with access to high-quality health care and supportive services. Their goal is to ensure that homelessness is prevented whenever possible.
Thanks to the joint efforts of HUD, the VA, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness has fallen by 4% since early 2020, and by 52% since 2010. Additionally, VA and HUD partnered to permanently house more than 46,000 homeless Veterans in 2023, surpassing the calendar year goal by 22.5%.
Currently, there are over 110,000 HUD-VASH vouchers being administered by over 700 PHAs. Since 2008, HUD has issued new HUD-VASH vouchers every year. Additionally, over 81,000 of those total vouchers are actively under lease by HUD-VASH Veterans, with many additional Veterans having received vouchers and currently in search of housing to lease.