Secretary Shinseki Announces $41.9 Million to Help the Homeles

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has
announced that 40 states will share more than $41.9 million in grants to
community groups to provide 2,568 beds for homeless Veterans this year.

"These grants wouldn't have happened without the extraordinary
partnerships forged with community organizers," said VA Secretary Eric
K. Shinseki. "These investments will provide transitional beds to
Veterans who have served honorably, but for various reasons now find
themselves in a downward spiral toward despair and homelessness."

The Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program provides grants and
per diem payments to help public and nonprofit organizations establish
and operate new supportive housing and service centers for homeless
Veterans.

The $41.9 million is broken into two categories. About $26.9 million
will help renovate, rehabilitate or acquire space for 1,352 transitional
housing beds. A second group of awards, valued at $15 million, will
immediately fund 1,216 beds at existing transitional housing for
homeless Veterans this year. The awards will cover daily living costs
based upon the number of homeless Veterans being served in transitional
housing.

A key component of VA's plan to eliminate homelessness among Veterans
within five years, the grants and per diem payments helped reduce the
number of Veterans who were homeless on a typical night last year by 18
percent to about 107,000 Veterans within one year.

VA's strategy to eliminate homelessness among Veterans is to implement a
"no wrong door" approach, meaning Veterans who seek assistance should
find it in any number of VA's programs, from community partners or
through contract services.

Under the Secretary's action plan to end homelessness among Veterans, VA
will continue to offer a full range of support necessary to end the
cycle of homelessness by providing education, jobs, health care and
counseling, in addition to housing. VA will increase the number and
variety of housing options available to homeless Veterans and those at
risk, including permanent, transitional, contracted, community-operated
and VA-operated housing. Most importantly, VA will target at-risk
Veteran populations with aggressive support intervention to try to
prevent homelessness before it starts.

For more information, visit VA's Web page for VA's National Homeless
Providers Grant and Per Diem Office at www.va.gov/homeless.
Additionally, VA has a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans,
1-877-4AID VET (1-877-424-3838),
www1.va.gov/HOMELESS/NationalCallCenter.asp.