Statement of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

March 4, 2009

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Homelessness Among Veterans 

Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to a number of factors including having uniquely military skills not needed in the civilian sector, combat-related health issues, minimal income due to unemployment, and a shortage of safe, affordable housing.

Most Americans believe our nation’s veterans are well-supported. In fact, many go without the services they require and are eligible to receive. Neither the VA nor its state and county equivalents are adequately funded to respond to these veterans’ needs. Moreover, community-based and faith-based homeless veteran service providers lack sufficient resources to care for this population.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs there are an estimated 154,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night, a 40 percent reduction since 2001. If this trend towards reducing the number of homeless veterans is to continue, more funding is needed for supportive services, employment and housing options to ensure veterans who served prior to and during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars can live independently with dignity.

H.R. 147 

NCHV believes veterans are citizens first. The people of this country have a responsibility to show respect and gratitude to the men and women who have served in the military. Enactment of H.R. 147 would give Americans an opportunity to thank these former warriors for their service by making a contribution to a fund that would help those men and women who need assistance as they return to civilian life. NCHV conditionally supports H.R. 147 but believes further discussion is needed regarding the administration and operation of the Homeless Veteran Assistance Fund. 

H.R. 1171 

The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) is the only federal program wholly dedicated to providing employment assistance to homeless veterans. The program is unique and highly successful because it does not fund employment services per se; rather it rewards organizations that guarantee job placement. In 2008, DOL reported 65 percent of homeless veterans served through HVRP entered employment and 72 percent of those who entered employment retained employment at the 90-day mark.

HVRP is the primary employment services program accessible by homeless veterans and the only targeted employment program for any homeless subpopulation. In anticipation of the new wave of men and women veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who may become homeless and will need effective employment programs to ensure their economic stability, reauthorization of the HVRP program, as stated in H.R. 1171 is imperative.

Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin, Ranking Member Boozman, Members of the Subcommittee:

As the representative of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), I am pleased to be invited to provide our views on several bills that have been referred to your Subcommittee for consideration. Of the ten bills you cited, I will restrict my comments to H.R. 147, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate a portion of their income tax payment to provide assistance to homeless veterans, and H.R. 1171, which would amend title 38, United States Code, to reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.


HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS

Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to a number of factors including having uniquely military skills not needed in the civilian sector, combat-related health issues, minimal income due to unemployment, and a shortage of safe, affordable housing.

Most currently homeless veterans served during prior conflicts or in peacetime. However, according to a 2008 RAND Corporation study nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan — 300,000 in all — report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment. This new generation of combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF-OEF), both men and women, also suffer from other war related conditions including traumatic brain injuries, which put them at risk for homelessness. The evolving gender mix of the military — women represent 15% of the military population — poses new challenges for the nation’s support system for returning veterans and their families. Women veterans report serious trauma histories and episodes of physical harassment and/or sexual assault while in the military. The VA and homeless veteran service providers are also seeing increased numbers of female and male veterans with children seeking their assistance.

Most Americans believe our nation’s veterans are well-supported. In fact, many go without the services they require and are eligible to receive. According to a Congressional staff analysis of 2000 U.S. Census data conducted in 2005, one and a half million veterans — nearly 6.3 percent of the nation’s veteran population — have incomes that fall below the federal poverty level, including 634,000 with incomes below 50 percent of poverty. Neither the VA nor its state and county equivalents are adequately funded to respond to these veterans’ health, housing and supportive services needs. Moreover, community-based and faith-based service providers also lack sufficient resources to care for this population.

According to the VA 2007 Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) report, there are an estimated 154,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night. This estimate of homeless veterans is down 21% from the 2006 estimate and represents a 40 percent reduction since 2001. The VA stated the decrease was due in part to the partnership between the VA and community-based homeless veteran service providers and provides evidence that the VA’s programs to help homeless veterans are effective.

If the trend towards reducing the number of homeless veterans is to continue, more funding is needed for supportive services, employment and housing options to ensure veterans who served prior to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars can live independently and with dignity. Additionally, increased funding for VA homeless veteran assistance programs will help prevent homelessness among the newest generation of combat veterans from OIF/OEF. With the help of Congress, the VA and other federal, state and local agencies, community-based organizations will be able to develop a coordinated approach to reduce, eliminate and ultimately prevent homelessness among all of America’s veterans. 

H.R. 147

If enacted, H.R. 147 would amend the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund and would allow individual taxpayers to designate on their tax returns $3.00 of income taxes ($6.00 in the case of joint returns) to be paid to such Fund to provide assistance to homeless veterans. The Fund would be administered by Treasury officials. The bill stipulates funds can only be used for the purpose of providing assistance to homeless veterans.

H.R. 147 does not provide details regarding Fund management and administration nor does it provide guidelines for dissemination of Fund amounts, including grant recipient eligibility, programmatic expectations, utilization requirements, size of funding requests, relationship of Fund assistance to other government and non-government funding resources, program accountability, expected outcomes, performance measures of success, and evaluation methodologies.

NCHV represents community-based organizations in 46 states and the District of Columbia that provide the full continuum of care to homeless veterans and their families, including emergency shelter, food and clothing, primary health care, addiction and mental health services, employment supports, educational assistance, legal aid and transitional housing. Many of these organizations currently receive funding from grants administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Labor in addition to other state and local government sources, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. However, to address the needs of the homeless and at-risk OEF-OIF veteran population, additional funding is needed to provide supportive services and housing to ensure they will return to productive, self-sufficient lives.

NCHV believes veterans are citizens first. The people of this country have a responsibility to show respect and gratitude to the men and women who have served in the military. Enactment of H.R. 147 would give Americans an opportunity to thank these former warriors for their service by making a contribution to a fund that would help those men and women who need assistance as they return to civilian life. NCHV conditionally supports H.R. 147 but believes further discussion is needed regarding the administration and operation of the Homeless Veteran Assistance Fund.

H.R. 1171

If enacted, H.R. 1171 will amend title 38, United States Code, to reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. HVRP is the only federal program wholly dedicated to providing employment assistance to homeless veterans. HVRP is funded by the Department of Labor (DOL) Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) and requires the Secretary of Labor to conduct, directly or through grant or contract, such programs as the Secretary determines appropriate to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force.

HVRP programs fill a special need because they serve veterans who may be shunned by other programs and services because of problems such as severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), long histories of substance abuse, serious psychosocial problems, legal issues, and those who are HIV-positive. These veterans require more time-consuming, specialized, intensive assessment, referrals and counseling than is possible in other programs that work with veterans seeking employment.

HVRP is unique and so highly successful because it doesn’t fund employment services per se; rather it rewards organizations that guarantee job placement. HVRP grantees produce highly-positive outcomes for homeless veterans. The success of the program has been documented by DOL--65 percent of homeless veterans served through HVRP enter employment and 72 percent of those who enter employment retain employment at the 90-day mark.

DOL estimated for FY 2009, $25,600,000 in HVRP funding would provide employment and training assistance to approximately 15,330 homeless veterans and of those approximately 10,665 will be placed into employment (average cost per participant = $1,670 and average cost per placement = $2,407). These costs represent a tiny investment for moving a veteran out of homelessness, and off of dependency on public programs.

HVRP is the primary employment services program accessible by homeless veterans and the only targeted employment program for any homeless subpopulation. In anticipation of the new wave of men and women veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who may become homeless and will need effective employment programs to ensure their economic stability, reauthorization of the HVRP program, as stated in H.R. 1171 is imperative.

Conclusion

NCHV appreciates the opportunity to submit its views to the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity regarding H.R. 147 and H.R. 1171. We look forward to continuing to work with the Subcommittee to ensure our federal government does what is necessary to prevent and end homelessness among our nation’s veterans.

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