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Housing Summit
On Nov. 20-21, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation and Citi Salutes, hosted the third annual Veterans Access to Housing Summit in Chicago, IL.
The NCHV Housing Summit brought together the major partners in improving access to affordable housing opportunities for homeless and low-income veterans. This two-day interactive training Summit addressed the remaining housing challenges in the Five-Year Plan to Prevent and End Veteran Homelessness and provided participants with the opportunity to learn, share and create solutions. Representatives from homeless veteran service providers, corporate partners, charitable organizations and federal agencies led engaging and interactive workshops and training sessions.
The Summit better equipped your agency to be an active partner in streamlined service delivery for veterans in need of rapid re-housing assistance and housing stability. It helped improve your organization’s ability to facilitate faster, more efficient housing placement for veterans in your programs. With less than 1,000 days left in the Five-Year Plan, every effort must be made to think creatively about maximizing housing alternatives available in local communities.
The Summit was hosted at the newly renovated Chicago Hyatt Magnificent Mile Hotel. This hotel offers luxurious, upscale and technologically advanced services in both the guest rooms and meeting space.
For the full Program for the Summit, click here.
To view the Housing Summit Photo Album, click here.
Speaker presentations are available below by track, and will be added as they are received.
Track 1: Creating Housing Options
"The Home Depot Foundation's Impact on Affordable Permanent Housing"
"Supportive Home Ownership"
"VA's Local Planning and a Changing GPD Program"
"Increasing Stock of Affordable Housing through Creative Financing"
Track 2: Supporting Access
"VA's Local Planning and a Changing GPD Program" (repeat session from Track 1)
"Connecting to Local Mainstream Resources I"
Nicole Bahena (CSH); Lori Cook (Good 360); Ian Lisman (NAEH)
"Connecting to Local Mainstream Resources II"
"Meeting Targeted Needs I: Housing for Aging Veterans; Housing in Rural Areas"
Walter Crouch (Appalachia Service Project)
"Meeting Targeted Needs II: Housing for Women Veterans; Housing for Disabled Veterans"
Track 3: Ensuring Stability
"SSVF: Rapid Rehousing and Creating Housing Stability"
"Housing First"
Leon Winston (Swords to Plowshares)
Who is NCHV?
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a 23-member board of directors – is the resource and technical assistance center for a national network of community-based service providers and local, state and federal agencies that provide emergency and supportive housing, food, health services, job training and placement assistance, legal aid and case management support for hundreds of thousands of homeless veterans each year.
NCHV also serves as the primary liaison between the nation’s care providers, Congress and the Executive Branch agencies charged with helping them succeed in their work. NCHV's advocacy has strengthened and increased funding for virtually every federal homeless veteran assistance program in existence today..jpg)
Under a technical assistance grant awarded by the Department of Labor-Veterans' Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), NCHV provides guidance and information about program development, administration, governance and funding to all of the nation’s homeless veteran service providers. This is achieved through conferences, personal consultations, publications, and this website – the nation’s most comprehensive information resource about homeless veterans and the programs that serve them.
The NCHV Central Office staff offers service providers assistance with administrative organization and program development; information about government, foundation and corporate grants; and guidance to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. We operate a toll-free homeless veterans assistance phone line and a comprehensive website to direct those who need help to the people who can provide it.
NCHV was organized in 1990 by a small group of community-based service providers who were troubled by the disproportionately large percentage of homeless people who were veterans, and the lack of veteran-specific programs to help them. We opened our Washington, D.C., office in 1993 in order to work more closely with Congress and Executive Branch agencies to ensure the inclusion of veterans in federal assistance programs.
According to its own estimates, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs will reach slightly more than 40 percent of America’s homeless veterans. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is the only national organization specifically dedicated to improving the opportunities for these deserving Americans to regain control of their lives and once again enjoy the freedoms they helped preserve. Our community-based service providers represent 46 states and the District of Columbia, and we offer assistance to any homeless service provider that contacts our office.
NCHV is recognized as the nation’s leading authority on homeless veterans issues by several agencies and departments of the U.S. government, and has worked in partnership on projects with VA, DOL, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. NCHV has helped develop and increase funding for homeless veteran-specific programs such as the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, both of which are currently funded at their highest levels ever. We helped write and worked to ensure passage of the hallmark Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001, which had the potential to provide $1 billion for homeless veteran service providers and programs. In the current (111th) Congress, NCHV helped craft – and continues to advocate for – 14 bills designed to improve and expand services for homeless veterans.
Staff
John Driscoll, President and CEO
jdriscoll@nchv.org
Baylee Crone, Vice President, Operations and Programs
bcrone@nchv.org
Randy Brown, Communications Director
rbrown@nchv.org
Louise Staley, Membership Development
lstaley@nchv.org
Kyle McEvilly, Communications and Program Assistant
kmcevilly@nchv.org
Josh Stewart, Policy Assistant Director
jstewart@nchv.org
Kasey Gressler, Program and Research Assistant
kgressler@nchv.org
Phillip Stringfield, Office Manager
pstringfield@nchv.org
Board of Directors
Patrick Ryan, Chair
PriceWaterHouseCoopers, LLC - McLean, VA
Charles "Chick" Ciccolella, Vice Chair
CSC Group, LLC - Alexandria, VA
Gwen Muse-Evans, Secretary
Fannie Mae - Bethesda, MD
Ron Zola, Treasurer
Tarentum, PA
Michael Armstrong
Community Hope, Inc. - Parsippany, NJ
Steve Benz
Eli Lilly and Co. - Carmel, IN
Brad Bridwell
Cloudbreak Communities - Phoenix, AZ
Debbie Burkart
National Equity Fund, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA
Joseph Caringella
Milner & Caringella, Inc. - Highland Park, IL
Margaret Cassidy
Cassidy Law PLLC - Washington, DC
Robert Cocroft
Center for Veterans Issues - Milwaukee, WI
Pete Dougherty
Jefferson County - Charles Town, WV
Kenneth Goldsmith
American Bar Association - Washington, DC
Stephani Hardy
Military Women In Need - Altadena, CA
Denis Leary
Veterans Inc. - Worcester, MA
Tori Lyon
The Jericho Project - New York, NY
Carlos Martinez
American GI Forum Nat’l Veterans Outreach Program, Inc. - San Antonio, TX
Wendy McClinton
Black Veterans for Social Justice - Brooklyn, NY
Robert Norris
Inglewood, CA
Pete Retzlaff
NewDay USA, LLC - Gilbertsville, PA
Andre Simpson
Veterans Village of San Diego - San Diego, CA
Kathleen Vitalis
Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans - Minneapolis, MN
Leon Winston
Swords to Plowshares - San Francisco, CA
Annual Conference
"Bridging the Gap" – May 28-30, 2014
Grand Hyatt Washington
Washington, D.C.
• 2014 Session Presentations
• 2014 NCHV Annual Awards
• 2014 NCHV Annual Conference Program
In nearly every community across the country, the resources exist to end veteran homelessness. However, having every puzzle piece does not mean the full picture has been completed. We must connect the pieces and, where pieces are still missing, push for targeted and immediate action.
This connectivity and action must be informed and strategic if we are to achieve the objective of ending homelessness among veterans by 2015. In May, you were a part of the country’s premiere forum for engaging in this strategic dialogue: the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ Annual Conference.
The 2014 NCHV Annual Conference, themed "Bridging the Gap," was a two-and-a-half-day intensive training event with over 30 unique workshops and over 80 expert panelists from government, research, and the service provider community. The Conference included several opportunities for attendees, including a networking lunch and awards banquet to honor the hundreds of peers from across the country who are actively involved in ending homelessness among veterans.
For communities where sufficient resources exist, the Conference provided instruction on how to convert housing, speak the language of mainstream medical and supportive service providers, and decrease the time it takes for a veteran to move from on the streets to stably housed. Those communities lacking in sufficient resources learned about new targeted initiatives across several Federal agencies, methods for improving local data collection to ensure adequate resource allocations, and prevention best practices. The NCHV Policy Session provided resources and guidance for successfully engaging Members of Congress. These were only of a few of the training topics at the Conference.
Now is the time to continue helping your local community to connect the pieces and bridge the gap between where you are and how you define success in your community. As VA Secretary Shinseki stated at the 2013 NCHV Annual Conference: “We've given ourselves two more years to do this, and in the words of the U.S. Cavalry, we're burning daylight. There is work to be done; let's get on with it.”
Track 1: Removing Legal Barriers
"Homeless Veteran Justice Initiative through the ABA Commission"
"Child Support Initiatives and Connecting to Local Legal Clinics"
"Legal Court Models: VTCs and HCPs"
Bill Russo (VA)
"Discharge Updates, and Where to Go For Services until the Upgrade"
Teresa Panepinto (Swords to Plowshares); Good Paper article; James Richardson (Mid Shore Pro Bono); Curing "Bad Paper" article; Discharge Review Regulations
"VA Legal Services: HCRV and VJO Initiative"
Jessica Blue-Howells (VA); PA Department of Corrections presentation
"SSVF and Legal Services"
Track 2: Access to Affordable Housing
"Rural Housing: Resources from USDA and Philanthropy"
Gina Capra (VHA); Donn Appleman (USDA); David Pennington (Longview Housing Authority); Joe Belden (Housing Assistance Coucil)
"GPD: Transitional Housing within the Continuum of Services"
"Housing First Implementation"
Eric Grumdahl (USICH); Tramecia Garner (Swords to Plowshares); Rita Chapdelaine, Kristine DiNardo (New England Center for Homeless Veterans); HUD Memo - SSVF; Project H3 VETS Tool Kit Exec. Summary
"Supporting Home Ownership"
"SSVF and Rapid Rehousing"
John Kuhn (VA); Sandra Foley (Center for Homelessness Among Veterans); Marta Budu-Arthur (New England Center for Homeless Veterans)
"Community Boot Camps"
"Housing Services within the CoC"
Brandi Jancaitis (Virginia Dept. of Veterans Services)
"Getting Creative about Housing Stability"
Lori Cook (THDF, Good 360)
Track 3: Employment, Training, and Income
"Using SOAR to Connect to Social Security Benefits"
Jen Elder (Policy Research Associates); SOAR Overview; SSA and VA Disability Benefits
"Social Security Benefits and Employment Networks"
James Wackerbarth (SSA)
"Employment and Training Resources: National Programs, Local Impact"
"Expedited VA Benefits Processing and Working with Local VSOs"
Dana Niemela (Denver Dept. of Human Services)
"Employment and Training Resources from DOL"
"Evidence-Based Supported Employment: Working with Veterans with Serious Barriers to Employment"
Sandy Reese (Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center)
Track 4: Data Improvement
"Improving Local Data"
"Targeting Tools for Smart Service Planning"
"New Research from the NCHAV"
Track 5: Emerging Unmet Needs
"Tribal and Minority Populations: Needs and Services"
Ron Armstead (Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust); Ralph Cooper (Cloudbreak Houston); Charles Lockman Interview; Travis Street
"Rapid Placement for Veterans with Families"
"Traumatic Brain Injury and Homelessness"
Anastasia Edmonston (State of MD); OH State University TBI Form; HELPS Brain Injury Screening Tool
"Trauma Informed Care"
"Communicable Diseases"
"The Aging Homeless Veteran: Rights and Responsibilities of Service Providers"
Carol Salter (Easter Seals)
Each year, NCHV honors the commitment and service of a few of the many deserving organizations and individuals helping homeless veterans across the nation. The following NCHV Annual Awards were presented May 29 at the NCHV Annual Awards Banquet at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.
Jerald Washington Memorial Founders’ Award
The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation – For launching the Veterans Initiative, a three-year, $30 million grant program to help community organizations create affordable housing for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families. The Veterans Initiative was soon increased to a five-year, $80 million grant program.
Together, the Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation have created more than 10,000 housing units for clients of NCHV associates, more than 11% of the total number of housing units envisioned in the original VA Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness. It is the single greatest corporate contribution in the history of the homeless veteran assistance movement.
Peter Dougherty Award for Excellence in Supportive Housing for Homeless Veterans
Announced during the 2013 NCHV Annual Conference, the Peter Dougherty Award honors its namesake – the personal advisor on homeless veterans for seven Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, one of the principal authors of the Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness, and the man who introduced The Home Depot Foundation to NCHV for the Veterans Initiative.
Four organizations advanced to the final round of consideration for the 2014 Peter Dougherty Award, with a $50,000 grant for the Grand Prize winner and a $10,000 grant for the first runner-up.
- $50,000 Grant Winner - Community Hope Inc., Parsippany, NJ, for Valley Brooke Village. An Enhanced-Use Lease project built on a 16-acre parcel of surplus federal property in Basking Ridge, NJ, Valley Brooke provides 62 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans with combat-related TBI, post-traumatic stress, and physical disabilities. Up to another 50 units are currently under development. The community serves two VA Medical Centers – Lyons and Orange – and residents include veteran couples and families with children. Residents have immediate access to VA health services 24/7, and on-site supportive services are available to help veterans set and meet their own goals for self-determination and self-sufficiency, including job coaches. Project funding included support from Peabody Properties, National Equity Fund, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Metlife, and a Community Development Block Grant from Somerset County, NJ.
- $10,000 Grant Winner - Swords to Plowshares, San Francisco, for Veterans Commons. Providing studio units for 75 single formerly homeless veterans with chronic and disabling conditions. The historic building includes office space for co-located clinical and social services; on-site VASH case management, Representative Payee and Money Management programs to ensure housing stability; 100% ADA adaptable units; and amenities that promote a sense of community for formerly homeless veterans.
- Finalist - Veteran Homestead of Fitchburg, MA, for the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center in Gardner, MA. This is the nation’s first intensive treatment and therapeutic residential facility for veterans with disabilities and serious mental illness that includes capacity for immediate family members – services include physical therapy, occupational therapy, education and training opportunities, counseling and a wide range of other supportive and family assistance services.
- Finalist - Tampa Crossroads of Tampa, FL, for Eco-Oaks, a model affordable housing community for women veterans with children and low-income families. The building was formerly a construction company in foreclosure, but has been transformed into an 18-unit apartment community complete with a central courtyard safe for a children’s play area. The project comes with sustainable energy-conservation features including rain barrels that hold more than 4,500 gallons of water, solar energy panels, energy efficient appliances and low-flow toilets. If an average power bill for a two-bedroom apartment in the area runs about $140 a month, the bill for one of these apartments runs about $35. The project was made possible with $3 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding.
Thomas Wynn, Sr. Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement
Shaun Donovan, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development – In President Obama’s FY 2015 budget request to Congress, there is a call for $75 million for an additional allocation of Section 8 vouchers for the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. If approved, the most critical housing program in the national campaign to end veteran homelessness will reach a total of nearly 80,000 VASH vouchers, a full 33% more than originally envisioned in the VA Five-Year Plan.
Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan deserves much of the credit for this historic accomplishment; his leadership has made it possible to virtually eliminate chronic veteran homelessness in the United States in the span of less than five years.
Donovan has a long history of working to provide affordable housing to American families. He previously served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). He implemented the department’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, creating 165,000 units of housing, the largest affordable housing plan in U.S. history.
He also helped develop the New York City Acquisition Fund, working with foundations and banks to finance affordable housing, an innovative metropolitan zoning program, one of the nation’s largest supportive housing plans, and one of the earliest response programs to the nation’s foreclosure crisis.
Meritorious Service Award
- Gen. Robert Cocroft, President and CEO, Center for Veterans Issues, Milwaukee, WI
- Amy Horton-Newell, Director, American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness & Poverty, Washington, D.C.
- LTC Felix Thibodeau, Nokomis High School Junior ROTC, Newport, ME
Corporate Partner Award
Outstanding Member Award
- The Doe Fund, New York, NY
- MassHousing, Boston, MA
Outstanding Partner Award
VA Staff Award
- Sandra Foley, SSVF Regional Coordinators Supervisor, New York, NY
- Lorenzo McFarland, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Health, Washington, D.C.
Unsung Hero Award
- Bob Stair, Site Coordinator, Veterans Inc., Worcester, MA
- Heather Pritchard, Sr. Manager, National Partnerships and Atlanta Hometown Giving, The Home Depot Foundation, Atlanta, GA
- Sara Sommarstrom, Vetlaw Director, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, Minneapolis, MN
Contact Us
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
333 ½ Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20003-1148
Phone: 202-546-1969
Toll-free phone: 800-VET-HELP
Fax: 202-546-2063
Toll-free fax: 888-233-8582
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