DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – A handful of organizations in Dallas/Fort Worth are working to house homeless veterans amid rising numbers.
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance announced this week that working with the Dallas housing authority, DHA, the U.S. Department of Homeless Affairs, and other homeless response system partners, 140 Dallas and Collin County homeless veterans ended their homelessness during its Veterans Challenge.
MDHA and its partners launched the initiative on May 1, in response to the recent rise in veteran homelessness in the two counties. The January 2019 homeless count, conducted by MDHA, saw the number of homeless veterans increase by 100, from 331 to 431 (11.3% of all homeless individuals). According to MDHA, The idea of the Veterans Challenge was for the group to challenge itself, its partners, and the Dallas community at large to come together to house, at least, 100 veterans in 100 days.
The main resource used to house the veterans was the Housing and Urban Development – Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, housing voucher. HUD provides housing vouchers, through local housing authorities like DHA, and the VA provides case management and other services.
As of August 15, at the close of the challenge, 105 veterans had moved into their new homes, using such vouchers, 25 had voucher contracts pending, and 10 had moved into housing using other homeless response system resources.
According to MDHA, each veteran must complete a five-step process, in order to end their homelessness through the HUD-VASH program:
- Attend an “admissions event” at the VA, to have their status verified;
- Visit with DHA to have their voucher issued;
- Find a property where they can rent a unit, and be accepted by that property;
- Have the unit inspected and pass DHA muster;
- DHA and the property sign a contract.
Though the DHA and VA teams are well versed in these protocols, both teams shared that the Veterans Challenge helped them develop better lines of communication and problem-solving capabilities and work more smoothly together.
“DHA went above and beyond to expedite processes to get our veterans out of the shelters and off the streets as soon as possible, with extra attention to our most vulnerable veterans,” Twyanna Nichols, the VA’s HUD-VASH Dallas Program Manager said.
With the success of the Veterans Challenge, MDHA and its partners plan to hold the challenge twice a year.
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