New funding will allow Public Housing Agencies in Nebraska to offer housing for more veterans and their families
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the availability of an additional $20 million in administrative fee funding for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program to help eligible veteran families obtain and maintain housing. Today’s announcement makes the additional funding available to 245 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) in the 43 states that currently administer the HUD-VASH program, which pairs rental assistance with case management and other supportive services provided by VA. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Richard J. Monocchio made the announcement in Madison, Wisconsin, this afternoon. PHAs in Nebraska received a collective $57,466.
“HUD is committed to keeping those who proudly served our country off the streets and putting an end to veteran homelessness,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Through additional funding resources for one of our most valuable programs, HUD-VASH, we can provide a much-needed means to an end for our veterans at risk of homelessness.”
These additional administrative fees will allow PHAs to build on their previous work and action planning with their VA Medical Center partners at the HUD-VASH Boot Camps in 2023-2024.
HUD-VASH PHAs are specifically encouraged to use funds available under this notice to take on additional HUD-VASH administrative activities such as:
- Housing search assistance activities
- HUD-VASH landlord recruitment
- Owner incentives and retention payments and security deposits
- Landlord/tenant mediation activities
“The Administration is proud to provide additional funding to PHAs serving veterans to help expedite leasing and improve utilization of the HUD-VASH program,” said Rich Monocchio, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing. “The additional administrative fees we’re awarding today will help communities build on the successes of the HUD-VASH program in addressing and reducing veteran homelessness across the country.”
Additionally, today, HUD announced a new set of policy changes that will ensure veterans experiencing homelessness are not disqualified based on their service-connected disability benefits from supportive housing projects subsidized by project-based rental assistance through the HUD-VASH) program. Veterans experiencing homelessness often receive VA benefits as a result of a physical or mental injury or condition that was acquired or worsened during military service. Before this change, these benefits were considered income when determining eligibility for housing assistance—causing some veterans to exceed the income threshold for these programs.
The HUD-VASH program for veterans experiencing homelessness combines HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA provides these services for participating Veterans at VA medical centers, community-based outreach clinics, through VA contractors, or through other VA designated entities. Since the program’s inception in 2008, HUD-VASH has assisted more than 200,000 veterans to exit homelessness and obtain permanent affordable housing.
Thanks to the joint efforts of HUD, VA, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has fallen by 52% since 2010.
Currently, there are over 112,000 HUD-VASH vouchers being administered by over 700 PHAs. Since 2008 HUD has issued new HUD-VASH vouchers every year. Additionally, over 84,000 of those total vouchers are actively under lease by HUD-VASH veterans, with many additional veterans having been issued vouchers and currently searching for housing to lease.
For a list of PHAs that received funding today, please see here.