National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 16th Annual NCHV Conference and

Membership Meeting 2013 May 29-31

Washington, D.C.

Ending Veteran Homelessness…

Ralph CooperCommunity & Residential Veteran Service Coordinator

Cloudbreak Communities

The Homeless Experience of

African American Veterans

Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Congressman Al GreenHome for Heroes Act

Homes for Heroes ActHomes for Heroes Act

PASSED PASSED

Problems Vets face on returning home

§Lack of affordable housing§Access to stable health care §Consistent amount of income §Post-traumatic stress disorder §Substance abuse

§ The percentage of homeless veterans has decreased

§ Minority veterans are still overrepresented within the homeless veteran population

§ Successful programs from the community are in place to address the needs of minority veterans

OVERALL STATISTICS.

§ African American veterans make up 35.1% of the homeless veteran population, compared to 18.9% of veterans in poverty, and 10.4% of all veterans

§ Hispanic veterans comprise 5.1% of homeless veterans, 4.1% of poor veterans, and 3.4% of all veterans

§ Non-Hispanic White veterans made up 52.1% of homeless veterans, compared to 70.3% of veterans in poverty and 81.5% of all veterans

Race and Ethnicity current statistics

§ While almost half of veterans in general are age 62 and older, veterans in the 31-50 and 51-61 age groups have the greatest percentages of homeless veterans

§ They are each almost equally represented at 41% of the homeless veteran population

§ Veterans between 18 and 30 make up 8.8%, and veterans again 62 and older make up 8.6%

AGEcurrent statistics

Importance of Services and Benefits

These people risk their lives in a army

for our freedomvolunteer

African Americans have fought in every war of the US, including Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-

American War, Civil War, Spanish American War, WorldWars, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Wars in

Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other conflicts

HOUSTON IS 4TH

LARGEST CITY IN U.S.

IS MAKING GREAT STRIDES IS MAKING GREAT STRIDES IN THE RACE IN THE RACE

TO END HOMELESSNESS TO END HOMELESSNESS FOR OUR VETERANSFOR OUR VETERANS

AND TO HELP BY PROVIDING AND TO HELP BY PROVIDING BENEFITS AND SUPPORT SERVICESBENEFITS AND SUPPORT SERVICES

HOUSTON

Outreach

Case Management

Health care services

Daily living services

Personal financial planning

Transportation services

Fiduciary and payee services

Legal services

Child care services

Housing counseling services

HOUSTONProvides eligible Veterans with assistance in obtaining VA and other benefits to help them acquire permanent housing on a sustainable

basis, which includes time-limited third party payments to landlords, utilities, moving companies, and licensed child care providers

AS WELL AS

Cloudbreak Houston was a major player in housing 100 veteran homeless in

100 days

HOUSTON

Cloudbreak Houstonand HUD/VASH Partnerships

Houston Housing Authority (HHA)Harris County Housing AuthorityDepartment of Veterans Affairs

§Enabled nearly 200 veterans to be Housed in our facilities using VASH Vouchers

§Supportive Services for Veteran Families helped pay for deposits and first months rents

§2014 budget includes $75 million for Houston Housing and $300 million for Department of Veterans Affairs

Midtown Houston

Improvements and

full occupancy

November 11, 2012 Cloudbreak Communities

broke ground on Travis Street Apartments, 192 permanent affordable

tax-credit efficiency apartments

for homeless Veterans

recently completed

TRAVIS STREET PLAZA

Travis Street Apartments at Greenspoint Mall

Mayor Annise Parker and veteran Elvin Blackat ceremony marking the success of

Housing Houston’s Heroes, a multi-agency program

Housing Houston’s Heroes Ceremony

Attended by Attended by Mayor Anise Parker andMayor Anise Parker and

Houston Veterans Affairs Houston Veterans Affairs Director Buddy Grantham Director Buddy Grantham

HOUSTONHomeless Database designed to improve help for more than 6400 homeless

§ To quote Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner, Lt Col, USMCR (Retired), who spoke at the Houston VA Cemetery on Memorial Day 2013, “God bless those who laid down their lives in the defense of liberty and the millions of American veterans we have lost through the years.”

§ And I would like to add, that there are many, many others who answered the call, served their country, and returned home alive, but found themselves homeless.

We have been doing fantastic work in

HOUSTON

We are Getting Closer to Our 2015 Goal

City of Houston registers homeless individuals and families which includes homeless Vets

§Database spurs fast action§Tailors benefits and other services to the homeless population

We remember 3 Important ways to accelerate progress

§Faster Connections to Permanent Housing

§Identifying and Meeting the Needs of Every Veteran

§Stronger Bridges to Mainstream Benefits

Less Than 1,000 Days Until the 2015 Goal

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

THANK YOU