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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded approximately $300 million more in grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to help thousands of very low-income veteran families around the nation who are permanently housed or transitioning to permanent housing. The SSVF grant program provides access to crucial services to prevent homelessness for veterans and their families.

The Coalition for the Homeless released a policy brief today citing the lack of supportive housing in New York City as one of the primary drivers of the marked increase in homelessness among single adults. The report, “A Growing Crisis for Single Adults: Supportive Housing Placements Decline as Homelessness Among Single Adults Remains High,” says failure by the State government to move more quickly on creating the 20,000 supportive housing units promised by Governor Andrew Cuomo is his January 13th budget address is exacerbating the crisis.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) today announced the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has been cut nearly in half since 2010.  The data revealed a 17-percent decrease in veteran homelessness between January 2015 and January 2016—quadruple the previous year’s annual decline—and a 47-percent decrease since 2010

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) made the following comments after President Obama signed into law H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) commends Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for introducing the new, expanded Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016.

The VA National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans has released a report on the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (H-PACT) model. H-PACT is a multi-disciplinary, population-based medical home model organized around the unique challenges homeless veterans face accessing and engaging in care. The H-PACT model addresses the multiple medical and social needs of these veterans in one setting by incorporating five core elements that distinguish it from traditional primary care models

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $24 million in grants to assist more than 1,200 low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families annually. These grants provide a combination of housing assistance and supportive services for this vulnerable population

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded more than $5 million to 42 local public housing authorities across the country that are working aggressively to end veteran homelessness. HUD is awarding additional funds to help these housing authorities administer a joint program with HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which provides permanent homes and needed services to veterans experiencing long-term, chronic homelessness (see local funding below)

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of both the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced new resources to help homeless veterans secure stable housing and supportive services.

Month-long initiative focuses on affordable housing, begins with major opportunity to develop 25 properties across the District. ayor Muriel Bowser launched the first annual ‘June Housing Bloom’, a month-long initiative that showcases how the public and private sectors are partnering to produce and preserve affordable housing, and revitalize neighborhoods across the District.

Two Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) employees were named finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medal, also known as the Sammies. The Sammies, called the “Oscars” of government service, are a highly respected public service honor named for the late founder of the non-profit organization,Partnership for Public Service. The awards align with his vision of a dynamic and innovative federal workforce that meets the needs of the American people.

Our coalition of New York’s leading housing organizations applaud your recent approval of nearly $2 billion for affordable housing in the 2016-2017 state budget. Your commitment was a powerful step in advancing the State’s unprecedented $20 billion plan to build and preserve affordable housing and combat homelessness

Tiarra Barrera-Hammond has faced many challenges over the past several years. During her early 20s, she had to start over in California. As a single mother with two young children, Tiarra faced more challenges than expected, including becoming homeless. She learned about a Goodwill® Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) training program run by Goodwill, Serving the People of Los Angeles County (SOLAC) based in Long Beach. Determined to support herself and her family, Barrera-Hammond soon enrolled in the training program.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro awarded $355 million to more than 1,200 local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico (see attached chart). These Continuum of Care (CoC) grants support the Obama Administration's efforts to end homelessness and build upon the $1.6 billion in funding HUD awarded through a first round of funding in March.

Health Care and Housing – Creating a Floor for Optimum Health, the first in a series of three webinars is brought to you by The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Regional Operations (ORO), Region 10 (AK, ID, WA, OR). The webinar will take place on May 18, 2016, from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm PST (2:00 pm – 1:15 EST). This will be an open community of sharing with subject matter experts from Federal, State, and local agencies and community partners who provide care and service to homeless persons.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) is hosting the webinar, “Talking to Congress; Advocating for Homeless Veterans”, on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 3:00 pm EDT. Communicating with your elected representatives in Congress can be a daunting task if you have never attempted it before, but it need not be. As constituents, and as providers of housing, employment, and other services to homeless veterans, you would be welcomed in the offices of your Senators and Representatives. Furthermore, the work you can do in these meetings can bear fruit for helping programs and veterans across the country.

The founder of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty will be the recipient of the 2016 Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize from Santa Clara University School of Law. The award honors top legal advocates who have used their careers to help alleviate injustice and inequity.

The VHA Privacy Office, in collaboration with the VHA Homeless Program Office, after discussions with the VA Office of General Counsel, is issuing guidance regarding VHA’s legal authority to disclose Veteran information and demographics, which is considered protected health information (PHI), to community partners who assist in serving Veterans who are currently homeless or those with a prior episode of homelessness.

Early registration for the 2016 National Conference on Ending Homelessness is now available. The conference will take place at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel from July 26 to 28, 2016.

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the April 15, 2016, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property. The list includes buildings and properties in 31 states and Puerto Rico.