The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) are offering a second round of housing assistance to nearly 2,000 homeless veterans nationwide.
The departments will offer rental assistance through the HUD-Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing Program, which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services from VA. Last October, the agencies awarded $62 million in vouchers to help more than 9,000 homeless veterans.
“It is unacceptable that after their service and sacrifice, too many of our veterans find themselves living on our streets and in our shelters,” HUD Secretary Julian Castro said in a news release announcing the aid. “We’ve made significant progress reducing homelessness among veterans by a third in just four years, and these vouchers will continue to help communities build on these gains, providing targeted assistance to those in need to ensure that every veteran has a home.”
Since 2008 more than 68,000 vouchers have been awarded and more than 80,000 homeless veterans have been served through the HUD-VASH program. Veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.
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