BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. Partners from every level of government gathered this week in Boston to celebrate the award of $1.3 million in permanent housing resources for homeless veterans in Boston under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH).

Federal officials, including Congressman Michael Capuano, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director Taylor Caswell, and VA Boston Healthcare System Director Michael Lawson joined Boston Mayor Tom Menino, Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Services Thomas Kelley, and Boston Housing Authority CEO Sandra Henriquez in making the announcement of the new resources during a press conference at the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano (pictured here) noted: "When the Congress resurrected the HUD-VASH program, history and data were on their side. HUD-VASH began in 1990, was successful, but dormant in expansion. But every study, every bit of research said, here was an initiative that worked: that ended homelessness for our veterans, that saved money, that reduced human misery. The good news is that HUD-VASH is field- tested and evidence-based."

The award of 105 vouchers to the Boston Housing Authority is part of the $75 million announced nationally for 10,000 new vouchers for the program as the result of Congressional support in the FY 2008 budget. An additional Presidential request for $75 million for 10,000 more vouchers has been supported in both the House and Senate in early stages of the FY 2009 budget.

The resources are part of $2.5 million awarded in Massachusetts; other grants were awarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($736,781) to administer 70 vouchers in conjunction with the Bedford VA Medical Center, and to the Northampton Housing Authority ($487,402) to administer 70 vouchers in conjunction with Northampton VA Medical Center. Pictured here is Director Mangano with John Nihen, Jr., one of the first veterans housed.

The VA Boston Healthcare System will provide outreach, supportive services and case management to eligible homeless veterans. The Boston Housing Authority will determine income eligibility in accordance with HUD regulations for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Under the program, veterans can use vouchers to rent privately-owned housing and pay up to 30 percent of income towards rent. The federal subsidy will make up the difference between the actual rent and what the veteran will pay.

"Every veteran deserves a home that he or she can afford," said HUD Regional Director Taylor Caswell (pictured here). "This program will serve a vital need by making sure veterans have an affordable place to live with the support services they need to live independently."

"This HUD funding will help the City of Boston expand its efforts to serve our veterans, who have given so much for our country. The money will be targeted toward providing homeless veterans with support services and the opportunity to obtain permanent housing, and I appreciate the efforts of all involved to make this program a success," stated Congressman Mike Capuano.

"It is important that we express to our veterans our deepest appreciation for their service to our country by providing them with the kind of housing and quality of life they deserve," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino (pictured here). "This will now be possible through a new partnership between the Boston Housing Authority, the VA Boston Healthcare System and US Department of Housing and Urban Development."

"This program will provide additional housing opportunities for a most deserving population, our nation's veterans; men and women who put themselves in harm's way, so that we could enjoy the comforts of home. Now it is their turn to be given the opportunity to enjoy a home of their own," said VA Boston Healthcare System Director Michael Lawson.

Council Regional Coordinator John O'Brien participated in this event.

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA. Recalibration of San Mateo County's 10 Year Plan was the focus of events this week as United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, invited by County Supervisor Mark Church and Jerry Hill, addressed San Mateo's Interagency Council on the direction of "HOPE: Housing Our People Effectively," San Mateo's 10 Year Plan.

Addressing Council members at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Director Mangano commended Supervisors Church and Hill for their leadership, and indicated: "When we look at the reasons 10 Year Plans succeed in their mission, the most important one is leadership at the jurisdictional level. We all know what happens to plans that are created, no matter how well intentioned, that lack the political will of jurisdictional leadership."

"In most cities after a Plan has been created and out in the community for a couple of years, the implementation group calls for a recalibration," he noted, adding: "That just makes sense. The Plan's trajectory is always towards results - tangible outcomes in the community."

San Mateo County Supervisors Church and Hill launched the planning process in 2005 as Co-Chairs of the HOPE Leadership Committee and established the HOPE Interagency Council on Homelessness. In March 2006, the HOPE Plan was completed. Supervisors Church and Hill have been strong supporters of the process and continue driving implementation efforts and are both signatories to America's Road Home.

The HOPE Interagency Council convenes regularly and is staffed by the San Mateo County Human Services Agency. County staff successfully replicated Project Homeless Connect and already hosted two events in different parts of the county. Pictured here are (left to right): Mayor Pedro Gonzalez, South San Francisco; Supervisor Jerry Hill, County of San Mateo; John Maltbie, County Manager, County of San Mateo; Director Mangano; and Supervisor Mark Church, County of San Mateo.

HOPE called for an increase in housing opportunities for people who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, preventing and ending homelessness by delivering timely, flexible services to support stability and independence, creating system performance standards, tracking progress towards ending and preventing homelessness, and reporting results to stakeholders and the broader community, and developing long-term leadership and community will to prevent and end homelessness.

Several San Mateo officials became signatories to America's Road Home (see related e-news story). Pictured here is Judith Christensen, Mayor Pro Tem of Daly City with Supervisor Mark Church, County of San Mateo.

The work of the interdisciplinary HOT Team piloted in the City of San Mateo and led by San Mateo City Police Chief Susan Manheimer will be the topic of an upcoming newsletter. Council Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera participated in this event.

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA. Meeting with the South Coast Homeless Advisory Committee in Santa Barbara this week, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano encouraged partners to monitor, evaluate, and recalibrate their plan going forward to ensure that that they are investing "only in the most innovative, cost effective solutions." Meeting at the City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department, Director Mangano noted: "The resources, though expanding, are too finite to do anything else. So sustaining flexibility in your plan is vital to its long term viability as a planning document - recalibration just makes sense. "

Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum and Council Member Helen Schneider invited Director Mangano to support Santa Barbara in learning "what's working" around the country and how to commit "legitimate larceny" of results-oriented strategies for Santa Barbara. The 15- member South Coast public committee meets monthly on homelessness issues and is co-chaired by Mayor Marty Blum, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf , and Goleta City Council Member Jonny Wallis. Roger Heroux is Executive Director of the Plan, and Jeanette Duncan is Chair of the 10 Year Plan Governing Board. Santa Barbara's Plan includes both the City and County, as well as Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, and Carpinteria. Tom Thomas, former bank head and community leader also sits on the Governing Board. The planners will be working with Cottage Hospital, which recently agreed to collaborate on a more extensive cost benefit study.

The 10 Year Plan event was followed by a signing ceremony that added new local jurisdictional partners to America's Road Home. Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum, already a Charter Signatory with Council Member Helene Schneider and Supervisor Salud Carbajal, joined Supervisor Janet Wolf and Goleta, California Council Member Jonny Wallis as they signed. The signing ceremony was held at Building Hope, a 50 unit site under construction, which will include 10 units for chronically homeless people, and 28 for persons living with a mental health disability. A tour was led by Annemarie Cameron, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of Santa Barbara County.

Director Mangano and Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera also toured two other initiatives while in Santa Barbara, which has a strong Housing Authority partnership under Rob Pearson, CEO. Director Mangano visited Casas Las Granadas, managed by Peoples' Self-Help Housing Corporation and owned by the City of Santa Barbara. The 12-unit site is under the leadership of Executive Director Jeannette Duncan who chairs the 10 Year Plan. Director Mangano also visited El Carrillo, 62 studio apartments managed and developed by the Santa Barbara Housing Authority. Watch for more details on these initiatives in an upcoming newsletter.

Pictured here at El Carrillo are (left to right): Roger Heroux, 10 Year Plan Executive Director; Jeannette Duncan, 10 Year Plan Governing Board Chair; Director Mangano; Council Member Helene Schneider; and Rob Pearson, CEO, City of Santa Barbara Housing Authority. Council Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera took part in this event.

WASHINGTON, DC. $25 million in resources to demonstrate "what works" to rapidly rehouse homeless families is part of the 2008 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development annual competition, which totals a record $1.42 billion. Changes to the 2008 competition for McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Grants are described in detail in the Federal Register Notice of Funding Availability published this week, as well as at HUD's Homelessness Resource Exchange site. The 2008 competition includes a shift to an electronic application.

Interested applicants should read all of the HUD materials, including a continuing posting of technical assistance tools on the Homelessness Resource Exchange site.

As directed by Congress in the FY 2008 HUD Appropriation (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, P.L. 110-161), HUD is implementing the $25 million, 3-year Rapid Re- Housing for Families Demonstration Program. This demonstration program will serve homeless households with dependent children who are residing on the street or in emergency shelters. The new federal family demonstration resources for the 2008 competition emphasize the priority of the Congress for the family population. Congress directed HUD through the budget to select a limited number of sites for the demonstration based on proven experience in providing Rapid Re-housing, a record of performance, and geographic diversity.

Read the NOFA for full details on eligibility, eligible uses, scoring, and other key issues.

Community Planning and Development. Also at HUD, new HUD Secretary Steve Preston has sworn in two new Assistant Secretaries to forward the Department's priorities. Susan Peppler is HUD's new Assistant Secretary for the Department's Office of Community Planning and Development, which includes the Homeless Assistance Grants program. Assistant Secretary Peppler previously served as Deputy Associate Administrator in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the General Services Administration (GSA). Prior to this, she was elected Mayor of the City of Redlands, California where she focused her energies on the City's affordable and multi-family housing stock. Ms. Peppler also served on the Governor's Task Force on Affordable Housing and as the League of California Cities' Director of Housing, Inland Empire Division.

Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations. Sheila M. Greenwood is the new HUD Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations. Assistant Secretary Greenwood previously served as HUD's Deputy Chief of Staff where she helped to manage the Department's role in supporting the long-term disaster recovery along the Gulf Coast. Before coming to HUD, she was the Director of Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding (OGCR). Greenwood was also a senior member of the Department of Labor's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to serving the Bush Administration, she was a Vice President in the Washington, DC Government Relations office of Citigroup.

WITH this issue, the e-news continues its coverage of the momentum among Mayors and County officials who are Signatories to the unprecedented 12-point America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions to end chronic homelessness, bringing the signers to a total of more than 280.

The America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions commits Mayors and County officials to work together in a housing-focused strategy that gives special attention to the needs of veterans and involves partnership with business, philanthropy, and community and faith- based organizations.

At the June 2008 Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, the nation's mayors unanimously supported a resolution affirming America's Road Home. Resolution No. 25 at the U.S. Conference of Mayors affirmed the America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions and urged Mayors to become signatories and implementers of the Principles in their jurisdictions and committed the Conference of Mayors to advance the Principles with Presidential candidates.

New Mayoral signatories to America's Road Home are St. Augustine Beach, FL Mayor Rich O'Brien, Geneva, NY Mayor Stu Einstein, Savannah, GA Mayor Otis Johnson, Torrington, CT Mayor Ryan Bingham, and Cambridge, MA Mayor Denise Simmons.

King County, WA Councilmember Julia Patterson and Thurston County, WA Commissioner Cathy Wolfe have become signatories.

During this week's 10 Year Plan events in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo Mayor Carole Groom, San Mateo County Supervisor Richard Gordon, San Mateo, CA Council Member Jan Epstein, San Mateo County Supervisor Rose Gibson, and Daly City, CA Council Member Judith Christensen became signatories.

Twenty-two Mayors and County officials representing jurisdictional leadership on homelessness across the nation signed the unprecedented 12-point Statement of Principles and Actions to end chronic homelessness last November 16 at a National Summit convened by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, Melville Charitable Trust President Robert Hohler, and supported by Fannie Mae. National and regional philanthropies participated in the Summit and had opportunity to engage jurisdictional leaders and review the Statement.

The elected officials' agreement affirms the roles of the U.S. Interagency Council, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Association of Counties in providing jurisdictional leadership through 10 Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness, adoption of innovations such as Housing First, ACT teams, and Project Homeless Connect, and the involvement of the philanthropic community in investing in results with a focus on permanent housing.

The Denver Summit was modeled on the successful bipartisan mayoral partnerships on climate change and illegal guns. A bipartisan summit of 15 Mayors convened in April 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to focus on illegal guns. The representative sample of Mayors met to discuss strategies and create a mayoral action plan that could be advanced with other cities, as well as with other levels of government and the private sector.

Mayors and County officials who are interested in becoming partners to the agreement can download the Principles and guidelines for signing at the Council's web site at www.usich.gov. A current list of the Charter Signatories is also posted.

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs convened a National Summit on Women Veterans' Issues in Washington, DC to "help ensure that women veterans know about the benefits and health care they have earned," according to VA Secretary and United States Interagency Council Chair Dr. James B. Peake.

"With more women than ever serving in our armed forces, this public forum will bring visibility to the issues important to women veterans of all eras," Dr. Peake said. "Today, women are important contributors to the military and valued members of the veterans community." Summit co-sponsors included the American Legion Auxiliary, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Other assisting veterans groups included the Blinded Veterans Association, Military Officers Association of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America and TriWest.

Today, over 200,000 women are serving in the armed forces. About 11 percent of the U.S. forces currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are women. Women veterans are entitled to the same benefits and medical care as their male counterparts, including health care, disability compensation, education assistance, work-study allowance, vocational rehabilitation, employment and counseling services, insurance, home loan benefits, nursing home care, survivor benefits and various burial benefits.In addition, VA also has a multitude of services and programs that respond to the unique needs of women veterans, including pap smears, mammography, and general reproductive health care, substance abuse counseling, counseling for sexual trauma, and evaluation and treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There is a women veterans program manager at every VA medical center, a women's liaison at every community based outpatient clinic and a women veterans coordinator at every VA regional office.

Secretary Peake has also announced plans to create 44 new community-based outpatient clinics in 21 states to bring VA health care "closer to home" for veterans. The new clinics, scheduled to be activated over the next 15 months, will increase VA's network of independent and community-based clinics to 782, an increase of more than 100 in five years. This growth in community clinics has helped VA meet veterans' expectations for prompt, quality service, with 98 percent of veterans seen within 30 days in all types of VA primary care facilities throughout the country.

In addition to on-site primary care staff, today's modern outpatient clinics frequently feature state-of- the-art telehealth systems permitting veterans to maintain regular contact with doctors in specialties from cardiac care to mental health at regional VA hospitals linked for video consultations, coupled with telemetry of health data or images. A highly acclaimed national health records system allows practitioners at even remote clinics to review patient records stored at VA facilities anywhere in the country.

Dr. Peake has announced readjustment counseling and other assistance in 39 additional communities across the country where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will develop Vet Centers by fall 2009 for combat veterans. Eighteen of the counties that will have new centers already have one or more; the other 21 do not.

The existing 232 centers conduct community outreach to offer counseling on employment, family issues and education to combat veterans and family members, as well as bereavement counseling for families of service members killed on active duty and counseling for veterans who were sexually harassed on active duty. Vet Center services are available at no cost to veterans who experienced combat during any war era. They are staffed by small teams of counselors, outreach workers and other specialists, many of whom are combat veterans. The centers have hired 100 combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as outreach specialists, often placing them near military processing stations, to brief servicemen and women leaving the military about VA benefits.

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