#255: Benefits Breakdown, HUD-VASH Program

This episode of Borne the Battle – a benefits breakdown – features HUD-VASH, a collaborative program between HUD and VA that provides support to help homeless Veterans and their families – and those at risk of becoming homeless – to find and sustain permanent housing.

Veterans Matter is one of the many nonprofits which work alongside and enhance HUD-VASH’s ability to reduce homelessness among Veterans.

According to the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, there were 37,252 homeless Veterans in 2020, and 15,204 of those Veterans were unsheltered.

For Meghan Deal, national director of the HUD-VASH Program, and Ken Leslie, a former homeless man and founder of Veterans Matter, these troubling statistics are an indication of the importance of their work. In this episode of Borne the Battle, Deal and Leslie answer these questions and more:

• What motivates them to help Veterans despite not being Veterans themselves?
• What does help from HUD-VASH and nonprofits like Veterans Matter look like?
• What makes a Veteran eligible for HUD-VASH assistance?
  • What makes a Veteran “homeless?”
• How can people get involved with helping homeless Veterans in their community?

If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk of homelessness, call 1-877-424-3838 for immediate assistance.

The HUD-VASH program also has resources geared specifically for the Native American Veteran population. For tribes that are interested in providing rental assistance and supportive services to Native American Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, read up on Tribal HUD-VASH and considering submitting an application.

Having access to safe and adequate housing is a human right. If you know a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of being homeless, encourage them to call VA for assistance. There are people working for and alongside VA, like Deal and Leslie, who are committed to rooting out homelessness and are standing by ready to help.

Borne the Battle Veterans of the Week:

• Marine Veteran Darin T. Hoover of Salt Lake City Utah
• Marine Veteran Johanny Rosario Pichardo of Lawrence Massachusetts
• Marine Veteran Nicole Gee of Sacramento, California
• Marine Veteran Hunter Lopez of Indio, California
• Marine Veteran Daegan Page of Omaha, Nebraska
• Marine Veteran Humberto Sanchez of Logansport Indiana
• Marine Veteran David Espinoza of Rio Bravo, Texas
• Marine Veteran Jared Schmitz of St. Charles, Missouri
• Marine Veteran Rylee McCollum of Jackson, Wyoming
• Marine Veteran Dylan Merola of Rancho Cucamonga, California
• Marine Veteran Kareem Nikoui of Norco, California
• Navy Veteran Maxton Soviak of Berlin Heights, Ohio
• Army Veteran Ryan Knauss of Corryton, Tennessee

Additional Links:

• Check out the Borne the Battle episode on Supportive Services for Veteran Families, another VA program helping tackle Veteran homelessness in its own way.
• The VA recently announced its Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology Grants to enhance Veterans’ abilities to live comfortably in specially adapted homes.
• VA expands rental support, increasing housing options for Veterans