Over 750 Attendees Hear from 146 Speakers at National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Annual Conference

Stakeholders in the fight to end veteran homelessness learn from community leaders on trending topics

Washington, DC – The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) hosted its annual conference, featuring more than 140 speakers during 68 sessions. Keynote speakers for the two general sessions were Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Benjamin Carson and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, both sharing their continued commitment to end veteran homelessness. You can watch Secretary Carson’s speech on CSPAN here and Secretary Wilkie’s here.

More than 750 representatives of community-based organizations serving homeless veterans, federal agency leaders and corporate partners from across the country attended the 2019 NCHV Annual Conference from May 29-31 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference theme was “Driven By Data,” and stakeholders attended dozens of workshops organized into tracks such as Promoting Stability: Employment and Income and Leveraging National Programs to Stimulate Local Innovation. A huge range of speakers with experience in direct service, philanthropy, and advocacy led these breakout sessions and panel discussions.

“With the help of our sponsors, supporters and attendees, the NCHV Annual Conference provides more information and opportunities each year,” said NCHV Acting Chief Executive Officer Cindy Borden, “It’s inspiring to witness so many advocates come together and work toward the common goal of ending veteran homelessness. This year, we asked attendees what drives them to end veteran homeless, and we look forward to seeing how the information learned at the Annual Conference builds upon that drive over the next year.”

A great example of the one-of-a-kind educational opportunities available came from Shannon Kissinger, Policy Analyst for Swords to Plowshares, who led the Learning Institute Combat to Community. Session attendees learned about commonly shared attitudes, values, and practices which characterize service in the military and how to best incorporate this knowledge in direct services to veterans.  In the workshop Threats to Mortality: Opioids and Suicide, service providers heard from National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans investigators, Thomas Bryne and John Schinka. Sponsors from Citi and The Home Depot Foundation offered insight on how to work with their unique programs at the local level. You can see the full list of sessions here.

Planning is already underway for the 2020 National Conference which will again be held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington D.C. in late May. For information on this year’s events or to chat with NCHV’s leaders for their perspective on veteran homelessness trends and challenges contact dhiggins@nchv.org.