Federal grants to help homeless veterans at Warm Springs

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Friday awarded $240,237 to provide permanent, supported housing to 20 Native American Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness in communities served by the Warm Springs Housing Authority.

Friday’s award totaling $5.9 million in grants to 26 Tribes or tribal housing organizations were made under the Tribal HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (Tribal HUD-VASH) Program , a demonstration program that combines critically needed HUD rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by VA to serve some 500 Native American Veterans nationwide.

Oregon’s two U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, cheered the news.

“Our veterans deserve nothing less than the very best America has to offer for their service to our country,” Wyden said. “It is only right that if our veterans come up against hard times that our government provides them with necessary assistance to help afford basic day-to-day necessities, like a safe place to sleep at night.”

“Our veterans have stood up for us, and we must stand up for them. No one who has served our country in uniform should ever have to sleep on the streets,” Merkley said. “This grant will help ensure that homeless veterans living on or near the Warm Springs Reservation get a chance to get back on their feet again.”

Last October, HUD invited 30 eligible tribes to seek Tribal HUD-VASH vouchers to help house and serve hundreds of Native American Veterans who are currently experiencing homelessness or at extreme risk of becoming homeless. Twenty-six tribes from Alaska to New Mexico will deliver and manage the housing vouchers among their members who need them on tribal lands.

“By targeting resources directly to tribes, we can better honor the service and sacrifice of Native American Veterans who now need a roof over their heads,” said Julin Castro in announcing the awards in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the winter meeting of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized. “These heroes deserve hope for a brighter future and by offering permanent housing solutions, combined with needed services and case management, we can work with Tribes to end veteran homelessness.”

“Targeting HUD-VASH vouchers to Veterans living on tribal lands opens new opportunities for helping Native American Veterans exit homelessness as quickly as possible” said Veteran Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald. “We are pleased that recent statutory changes to the HUD-VASH Program made it possible to award these vouchers for use within Indian Country, where Native American Veterans have existing support systems that can be aided by those provided under the HUD-VASH Program to help the Veterans remain stably housed.”

Since 2008, more than 79,000 vouchers have been awarded to public housing authorities – including 1,718 to 15 non-tribal public housing authorities in Oregon – and approximately 90,000 homeless Veterans have been served through the broader HUD-VASH program. Rental assistance and supportive services provided through HUD-VASH are a critical resource for local communities in ending homelessness among our nation’s Veterans.

In FY2015, Congress authorized funding for a demonstration program in order to expand the HUD-VASH program into Indian Country and directed HUD to coordinate with Indian tribes, tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs), and other appropriate tribal organizations on the design of this program, and to ensure the effective delivery of housing assistance and supportive services to eligible Native American Veterans.

The Tribal HUD-VASH Program will provide rental assistance and supportive services to Native American Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness living on or near a reservation or other Indian areas. HUD is making available $5.9 million in grant funding to Indian tribes and TDHEs to fund rental assistance and associated administrative fees.

Indian tribes and TDHEs participating in this program will partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide healthcare assistance to eligible Native Americans.