“The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it planned to pledge an additional $400 million of its nearly $20 billion in COVID-19 emergency response funding to help homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness.”
“Tens of thousands of veterans are homeless on any given night in America, and more than 1.4 million were at risk of becoming homeless before the coronavirus pandemic struck.”
“As the pandemic continues to pummel the economy, more and more veterans are put at risk of homelessness, and many of those already homeless have lost access to the few resources they had as shelters across the country shuttered.”
“Earlier in the pandemic, advocates warned that without permanent housing, America could expect to see a ‘huge spike’ in veteran homelessness…”
“VA does not currently have the authority to provide food, phones or other supplies to homeless veterans, VA officials told Connecting Vets. The bill, in part, would allow VA to use existing funds to provide many of those resources and more, loosening limitations on VA for ways in which it can use emergency money to help homeless vets…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA pledges $400M in emergency funds to help homeless veterans during the pandemic – By Abbie Bennett, July 16, 2020. Connecting Vets.
