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Conference Calls on the HVRP Program and Application
Registration limited to 50 participants per call

NOTE: Each call is directed to a different type of organization � those that have not applied for HVRP funding before (first call) and those that have (second call).

The U.S. Department of Labor-Veterans� Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) recently announced a Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) for the Homeless Veterans� Reintegration Program (HVRP).

Under this solicitation covering Program Year 2010, VETS anticipates that $8.3 million will be available for urban and non-urban grants (up to $5 million for either type), with a maximum award of $300,000 for grants that serve urban areas and $200,000 for grants that serve non-urban areas.

HVRP grants are intended to address two objectives: (1) to provide services to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into meaningful employment within the labor force, and (2) to stimulate the development of effective service delivery systems that will address the complex problems facing homeless veterans.

Successful applicants will design programs that assist eligible veterans by providing job placement services, job training, counseling, supportive services, and other assistance to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force. Programs should be designed to be flexible in addressing the universal as well as the local or regional problems that have had a negative impact on homeless veterans re-entering the workforce.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) will host two conference calls focusing on HVRP program design and application requirements. The first call is scheduled for April 8, 2010, at 2 p.m. EDT and will pertain to organizations applying for funding for the first time. To register for this call, email your name, organization and email address to hvrp@nchv.org.

A second call is scheduled for April 13, 2010, at 2 p.m. EDT and will pertain to organizations that have previously applied for HVRP grant funding and would like an overview of current funding priorities and focuses. To register for this call, email your name, organization and email address to hvrp2@nchv.org.

Registration will be limited to 50 participants per call.

DOL Announces Availability of HVRP and VWIP Funds
Applications due April 26, 2010

The U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) has released Solicitations for Grant Applications (SGAs) for the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP) and the Veterans' Workforce Investment Program (VWIP). The closing date for applications for both programs is April 26, 2010.

HVRP

VETS anticipates that up to $5 million will be available for urban and non-urban HVRP grants for Program Year (PY) 2010, with a maximum award of $300,000 for grants that serve urban areas and $200,000 for grants that serve non-urban areas.

VWIP

VETS anticipates that up to $2 million will be available for VWIP grants for PY 2010, with up to a maximum of $500,000 for each grant award. Approximately four awards will be made under this solicitation with the possibility of additional awards contingent upon applicant funding requests.

For more information
www.nchv.org

USICH Summarizes Public Comment on Federal Strategic Plan
Document published online

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) has published a summary of results from its public engagement � which has included regional stakeholder meetings, an online interactive forum, and listening sessions with federal workgroups � on the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.

Input included a broad range of perspectives from both external and federal government stakeholders on the challenges, priorities, and strategies for ending and preventing homelessness in America.

What We Learned pdf document:
www.ich.gov/PDF/USICHWhatWeLearned.pdf

HUD, VA Launch $15 Million Demo to Prevent Veteran Homelessness
New prevention effort near five military bases

WASHINGTON, D.C. � In an effort to prevent homelessness among veterans, primarily those returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on July 22, 2010 that both agencies will invest a combined $15 million in five selected communities near military installations. The HUD and VA grant funding is intended to provide housing assistance and supportive services to veterans who might otherwise be living in homeless shelters or on the streets.

Under the new Veterans Homelessness Prevention Demonstration Program (VHPD), existing HUD grantees or �Continuums of Care� located near the following military installations will each receive $2 million: MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida; Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas; Fort Drum in Watertown, New York; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington. In addition, VA medical centers in the following areas will each receive $1 million: Tampa, San Diego, Dallas, Syracuse, New York, and American Lake in Washington.

"The men and women who serve our nation deserve better than a life on the streets when they return home," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. "These grants represent a first step toward designing the best interventions possible so that we can prevent homelessness for those heroes who sacrificed so much for us. It is also another step forward toward reaching President Obama�s goal of preventing and ending homelessness in all its forms."

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki added, "While usually the strongest and most resilient of Americans, veterans still represent a disproportionate share of America�s jobless, homeless, depressed, substance abusers and suicides. Nowhere is our obligation to our citizens, and to our veterans who have defended our nation, more important, more visible, or more necessary than in our commitment to prevent and end homelessness."

"This effort is about reaching veterans and their families who are transitioning home and struggling to readjust," said Senator Patty Murray, who established VHPD in the Fiscal Year 2009 Housing Appropriations bill. "By providing access to stable housing, health care, and job training and outreach services, this program provides targeted support to our heroes who are returning home to a difficult economic climate. All veterans deserve housing and the dignity that comes with it, and this is another step to reach those who have sacrificed so much."

Through this combination of housing, health care, and employment services provided through the U.S. Department of Labor, VHPD is designed to explore innovative early interventions to help prevent veteran homelessness, targeted to service members returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three-year grants announced today will help the five identified communities or Continuums of Care to use and track client-level data provided by VA and the U.S. Department of Defense to target veterans who meet the eligibility criteria. VA will act as the primary liaison to grantees and will provide eligible veterans with access to VA health care and benefits. HUD funds will provide short- or medium-term rental assistance, including security deposits, utility payments and case management. In addition, the program will offer community-based supportive services appropriate for veterans and their families, including child care and family services.

VHPD is also intended to improve the understanding of the unique needs of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. HUD anticipates that it will take approximately 90 days from the date these grant agreements are signed for selected grantees to be able to identify and serve veteran individuals and/or families who qualify for assistance under VHPD.

VHPD also supports the Obama Administration�s far-reaching and ambitious strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Last month, HUD and 18 other federal agencies unveiled Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families and youth by 2020.

Senate, House Appropriations Committees Approve Record Homeless Veterans Funding
$151 million for HUD-VASH, $220.6 million for GPD in Senate bill

The Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Appropriations have approved record funding for homeless veterans in their fiscal year (FY) 2011 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bills. Most notably, these bills include $151 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program � the funding equivalent of about 20,000 vouchers � and $220.6 and $218 million, respectively, for the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program and program liaisons, which received $150 million in funding in FY 2010.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) has been advocating for a $200 million GPD appropriation since 2005.

In both appropriations bills, the President�s historic budget request for homeless veterans programs is met or exceeded, with about $800 million going toward direct programs to assist homeless veterans. Highlights from the Senate appropriations bill include: $10 million to provide family-friendly housing for homeless veterans on VA medical campuses, and $12.6 million for the Veteran Justice Outreach program. In the House appropriations bill, highlights include: $51 million for supportive services for low-income veterans and families.