1. VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) HOMELESS PROGRAM OFFICE (HPO)
FLORIDA SUPPORTIVE HOUSING SUMMIT
VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) HOMELESS PROGRAM OFFICE (HPO)
Jeff
Good day to you and welcome to our Grant and Per Diem Case Management Grant Feedback webinar for the Fiscal Year This is Jeff Quarles, Director of the Grant and Per Diem National Program Office. I am joined by Chelsea Watson, Deputy Director who will also be presenting with me today. We have pre-recorded this webinar, so we can get this information out to the field as quickly as possible, and so you can access the information at your convenience.
As a reminder this NOFA was for a Case Management grant. This is the first offering of this grant, which is a two year award. The purpose of the grant is to enhance housing retention for formerly homeless Veterans and Veterans at risk for homelessness.
Jeffery Quarles, MRC,LIDC
Grant and Per Diem National Director

2. HPO Part of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
VHA is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States
170 VA Medical Centers
1,063 Outpatient Clinics
VHA provides wide range health care services, not limited to;
Medical
Mental Health
Substance Use Disorder
Rehabilitation
Dental
Vision
Homeless Services
Jeff
The Homeless Program Office is part of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for a bit of context about our organization. VHA is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,243 health care facilities, including 170 VA Medical Centers and 1,063 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving more than 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
VHA provides wide range health care services, not limited to;
Medical
Mental Health
Substance Use Disorder
Rehabilitation
Dental
Vision
Homeless- so when you work with our programs most of the Veterans we work with also have access to a wide range of healthcare services.

3. Veterans Health Administration- Homeless Program Office
Veteran Homelessness
Supportive Housing
Rapid Rehousing/Prevention
Transitional Housing
Treatment
Employment
Outreach/ Referral
The Homeless Program Office provides a variety of services to meet the needs of homeless Veterans
There are a number of ways to think about all the different programs that we have;
We have Supportive Housing services through our partnership with HUD, in the HUD-VASH program (FY ,509 Vouchers, with 84,130 vouchers in use, over 78,000 housed the remainder in actively seeking housing, or reserved for Veterans undergoing PHA validation )
We have rapid rehousing and prevention services,
with the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF),
as well as our Veterans Justice programs. We recently added housing retention services in the Grant and Per Diem Program ( $30 million case management grant)
Our transitional housing includes HCHV contracted residential services (3,763) and Grant and the Per Diem Program (about 12,500 beds)
The Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans program is a Mental Health Residential Treatment program that provides services to homeless Veterans (2,067 beds)
Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (HPACT) are in 56 locations nationwide
Employment
Homeless Veterans Community employment services
Outreach and Referral
HCHV also provides outreach to Veterans 139,655 Veterans reached in FY 2018)
Community Resource and Referral Centers -31 locations
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (made over 56,000 referrals to local VAMC Points of Contact in FY 2018)
Research/Education/ Dissemination
National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans

4. Effectiveness of Homeless Programs: Reduction in Veteran Homelessness Since 2010
Thank you for your efforts in Florida.
Note: Florida has experienced a 54.9% decrease in Veteran homelessness since 2011
2011-5,644 Homeless Veterans; ,543 homeless Veterans
This table shows the downward trend in Veteran homelessness nationally
There has been a 49% overall reduction in Veteran homelessness during this period, with the number for the Point in Time count in 2018 being 37, 878
This reduction includes a 46% decrease in Sheltered Homeless Veterans during this period (23,312)
And a 52% decrease in Unsheltered Homeless Veterans during this period (14,566)

5. What is HUD-VASH?
Collaborative program with HUD, who provides Housing Choice Vouchers allocated to participating Public Housing Authorities (PHA) to assist with rental payments.
VA provides clinical case management and services to assist Veterans to obtain and sustain permanent housing while also assisting Veterans with access to treatment and other supportive services that promote their quality of life
Operates utilizing the principles of Housing First
Targets and prioritizes the most acute and vulnerable homeless Veterans first
Primary goal is to move Veterans and their families out of homelessness into permanent supportive housing while promoting maximum Veteran recovery and independence in the community
Between fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY18 there have been approximately 937,500 HUD-VASH vouchers funded by Congress
VA and HUD are currently working to allocate another 5,000 vouchers from the FY19 HUD budget
VA currently has approximately 4,100 staff working in HUD-VASH (not including contracts)
Anticipate adding up to 200 additional staff to support the FY19 vouchers that are being allocated

6. Who is Eligible? Basic Eligibility Greatest need is served first
Homeless Veteran
Demonstrates a need for case management and supportive services to maintain permanent housing
Eligible for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care and services
Not a lifetime registered sexual offender (verified by PHA)
Not over local income limits (verified by PHA)
Greatest need is served first
Not a first come, first served program

7. Contact Information
Jesse K. Vazzano, LICSW National Director, HUD-VASH Homeless Programs Office Veterans Health Administration

8. Supportive Services for Veterans Families
Authorized to provide supportive services grants to non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives assisting very-low income Veteran families residing in or transitioning to permanent housing
Rapid rehousing
Homeless Prevention
SSVF Information
Website

9. Rapid Resolution Definition
Engagement with Veteran to try to:
identify an alternative to literal homelessness in shelter or on the street
through a problem-solving conversation that explores
possible temporary or permanent housing opportunities in the Veteran’s own network of family, friends or social supports
Other names: Diversion, Problem-Solving Conversation, Rapid Exit, Mediation, Strengths-Based Work
Also called diversion, rapid exit and problem-solving – name varies but the practice has common elements across communities
Federal Partner Problem-Solving Language: Exploratory conversation with a household facilitated by trained staff immediately prior to entering emergency shelter or closely thereafter
Seeks to understand the household’s strengths and existing and potential support networks in an effort to connect the household to a safe housing option, even if temporary

10. Rapid Resolution Intervention Entry into Homelessness
Position of Rapid Resolution in the System
Doubled Up
Rapid Resolution Intervention
Own
Place
Entry into Homelessness
PH Offer
Traditional Prevention
Diversion
Rapid Exit
For the Rapid Resolution pilot, coordinated entry access points are a key first step in identifying Veterans who are about to become or are homeless. To be effective these Veterans need to be immediately connected with the SSVF grantees who are prepared to help the Veteran identify safe, alternative housing options. This referral process will look different in every community because coordinated entry looks different in every community.
Rapid
Re-Housing,
PSH, with family
and/or friends, Self-Resolve, Other
* Could be a shelter, outreach engagements a drop-in center, VA, a CES Access Point, wherever people are most likely to present asking for help.
SSVF Regional Meeting April 2019

11. Grant and Per Diem
GPD program provides grants to community based organizations to provide transitional housing and supportive services to homeless Veterans.
Over 600 transitional housing grants
Six housing models
Approximately 12,500 beds
New Case Management Grant- focus housing retention

12. Just Released! The Transformation of VA GPD Programs: Considerations for Communities
Released on June 27, 2019
Co-Published by USICH and VA GPD
Overview of the housing models currently funded through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Grant and Per Diem (GPD) programs
Describes the current mix of implementation of the various GPD models
Provides some considerations for CoCs and community stakeholders as this transformation is implemented and navigated locally
Jeff
We just wanted to call your attention to The Transformation of VA Grant and Per Diem Programs: Considerations for Communities. It was released at the end of June and was a joint venture between the VA Homeless Program Office (GPD National Program Office) and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). We are proud of this document and are hoping that you will share it widely with CoCs and community partners. This brief is a wonderful tool in helping us to develop common and shared language with communities. It offers an opportunity to think not only about what we currently have or do not have in our communities, but how we may plan going forward. This document has some wonderful charts about what the models look like nationally and also across VISNs
Now two years into the GPD models, it is a great opportunity to build off of the work that you have already been doing with the VA, HUD, and USICH Community Planning Survey and coordination meetings to help your community’s team to end Veteran homelessness get to the next level.. As you will hear later on today, we strongly encourage GPD grantees, CoCs, VAMCs, and community partners to think and plan strategically about the future.

13. VA Homeless Program Website www.va.gov/homeless
Resource Information
VA Homeless Program Website
Variety of information about Veteran Homelessness and links to our various programs
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (877)
Available 24 hours per day 7 days per week
Veterans Crisis Line (800) Press 1
Additional Information call, chat, or text
National call center free help for homeless Veterans- Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness—and their family members, friends and supporters—can make the call to or chat online with the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, where trained counselors are ready to talk confidentially 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that’s available to anyone, even if you’re not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care. The caring, qualified responders at the Veterans Crisis Line are specially trained and experienced in helping Veterans of all ages and circumstances