WASHINGTON — The newly chartered Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans held its first meeting here recently to begin work on its review of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs aimed at eliminating homelessness among veterans.
“We want to find out what works, remove barriers and engage a broader segment of communities,” said Robert Van Keuren, committee chairman, who also is VA’s Homeless Veterans Program coordinator in Canandaigua, N.Y. “Faith-based organizations will be a major part of what we look at. The solution is not all in government hands. It’s not just VA’s mission; it’s America‘s mission.”
Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. Leo S. Mackay Jr. opened the two-and-a-half-day meeting June 3 by asking committee members to make inroads into the problem of veterans homelessness by building on existing programs and forging new ground. Mackay said their success could come from a combination of the president’s initiative to broaden government’s work with faith-based groups and VA’s partnership with private-sector providers of services and veterans service organizations.
The 15 committee members have expertise in issues that affect homeless veterans, such as mental health and housing, or represent national veterans organizations and non-profit providers of services.
VA provides more direct aid to the homeless than any other federal agency. Last year, VA programs touched about 100,000 of the estimated 200,000 homeless veterans with services ranging from health care and disability payments to housing and job training. VA spends more than $150 million annually in specialized programs that include grants and per diem payments to nearly 300 groups assisting homeless veterans nationwide.
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