Homelessness

Sonia Niznik was taking shelter from Arizona’s dry summer heat at a “cooling center” provided by a local church when a team of outreach workers began conducting screenings using the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization and Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT). At the time, Sonia had been without a home for about three years.

In June, Jaramillo participated in a Vulnerability Index and Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) survey during a 25 Cities Street Outreach week. VI-SPDAT is one tool the San Diego community is using as part of its Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement (CAHP) System. The following week he was assigned a Housing Navigator, who helped him understand the resources available to him and collect necessary documents for permanent housing. Soon after, he was matched to a Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) rapid rehousing program through Veterans Community Services, a division of Community Catalysts of California and a partner in the San Diego 25 Cities Effort. The Veterans Community Services SSVF program assisted Ben in finding and staying in permanent housing and provided him with financial assistance to help him pay his rent.

SOAR is a Substance Abuse and Metal Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative that helps states increase access to mainstream benefits for people with disabilities who are experiencing homeless or at risk of homelessness. The SOAR initiative helps to improve access to SSI/SSDI among Veterans through training of case managers and providing technical assistance to states and communities. By using the SOAR model, SSVF grantees help connect eligible Veterans to SSA benefits, income which can lead to sustained housing for persons who had formerly experienced homelessness and can prevent evictions for disabled Veterans.

In 2000, I ran. I was still running away from the guilt, shame, and anger of what I went through in the war. Chronic homelessness and life on the streets became my new reality until I found out about the VA Leeward CBOC in 2013. Another homeless Veteran friend of mine saw me on the streets and said he had been getting help from the H-PACT team. He told me to go get help.

This week, I am joining volunteers across the country to [...]

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By the end of 2014, Team AMVETS will have served over 1,500 Veterans and families. Through 2015, they will continue to work towards their goal of providing furnishings for every Veteran in California who receives housing vouchers through the HUD-VASH program. As these men and women begin to rebuild their lives, Team AMVETS is there, with many others, when help is needed most.

Thanks to the philanthropy of Katy Perry, 22 homeless veterans [...]

By DaVaughn Phillips In a region still recovering from the [...]

This article is cross-posted from the OMBlog. Early on in [...]

Joining Forces is a community-based effort to lessen the burden on military families through programs focused on mental health, jobs, homelessness and more.