February 2002

Coordinating Resources and

Developing Strategies to

Address the Needs of

Homeless Veterans

Coordinating Resources and

Developing Strategies to

Address the Needs of

Homeless Veterans

February 2002

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Community Planning and Development Office

 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This guidebook was prepared by Abt Associates Inc. under Contract C-OPC21198, Task Order 9 for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development's Office of Community Planning and Development. The primary 

authors of this report are Jennifer Turnham, Caryn Nagler, and Sarah Churchill. 

Mary Joel Holin served as the Technical Reviewer. Jennifer Berrien, Ty

Hardaway, and Claudia Solari provided the background research. Jeff Smith 

managed the guidebook production. 

The authors acknowledge the thoughtful guidance and support provided by HUD 

staff Michael Roanhouse, the Government Technical Monitor and Mary Kay 

Bransford, the Government Technical Representative. Mark Johnston and John 

Garrity of the same office provided useful technical review. The authors also 

thank William Pittman, Director of HUD’s Veteran Resource Center, for his 

contributions. 

The authors wish to thank other Federal agency staff who provided us with 

contacts and information on funding resources available to homeless assistance 

providers serving veterans. Peter Dougherty at the U.S. Department of Veterans 

Affairs and Stanley Seidel at the Department of Labor were particularly helpful 

in identifying promising projects for us to consult. At the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, we consulted with Fran Randolph (Center for 

Mental Health Services) and Jean Hochron (Healthcare for the Homeless) and 

their staff. In addition, we thank Richard Schneider of the Non-Commissioned 

Officers Association and Sharon Hodge of Vietnam Veterans of America for 

sharing their insights with us. 

We especially acknowledge the support provided by our subcontractor, the

Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training, and Executive Director 

Colonel Charles Williams, USA (Retired), who assisted in all stages of

guidebook development, from its earliest conception to the final review. 

The authors of this report are deeply grateful to the project administrators we 

consulted about “promising practices” at 26 projects located around the nation. 

This guidebook would not have been possible without their detailed descriptions 

of lessons learned on strategies for resource coordination. We thank them for 

generously sharing their time, experiences, and wisdom with us.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Table of Contents

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1

WHY FOCUS ON HOMELESS VETERANS?................................................................................... 1

WHO ARE HOMELESS VETERANS? ............................................................................................. 1

WHO SERVES HOMELESS VETERANS?....................................................................................... 2

HOW ARE HOMELESS VETERANS BEST SERVED?..................................................................... 2

WHO FUNDS THESE PROJECTS?.................................................................................................. 2

HOW IS THIS GUIDEBOOK ORGANIZED?.................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT SITES................................................................................5

PROJECT LOCATION..................................................................................................................... 5

PROJECT SIZE............................................................................................................................... 6

TARGET POPULATION................................................................................................................. 7

TYPE OF HOUSING PROVIDED.................................................................................................... 7

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES............................................................................................................... 8

PROJECT RESOURCES.................................................................................................................. 9

PROJECT STAFFING.................................................................................................................... 10

OUTCOME MEASURES............................................................................................................... 11

CHAPTER 2: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE RESOURCE COORDINATION .........................................13

PARTNERING WITH THE VA ..................................................................................................... 15

PARTNERING WITH VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.................................................. 16

PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY AND/OR FAITH-BASED HEALTH AND 

SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.......................................................................................... 18

PARTNERING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LEGAL ASSISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS.... 20

PARTNERING WITH EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES, AND WORKFORCE 

DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS............................................................................................ 22

PARTNERING WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES......................................................... 23

CHAPTER 3: PROMISING PRACTICES AMONG PROJECTS SERVING HOMELESS VETERANS .........25

MODELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY............................................................................................. 25

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING INITIATIVES........................................................................... 27

ADDRESSING CLIENTS’ LONG-TERM NEEDS ........................................................................ 29

MAKING THE MOST OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS............................................................. 31

SERVING HOMELESS VETERANS IN RURAL AREAS.............................................................. 32

SERVING FEMALE VETERANS.................................................................................................. 34

APPENDIX I: SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR PROJECTS SERVING HOMELESS VETERANS ..................37

APPENDIX II: OTHER RESOURCES AND CONTACTS.........................................................................47

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Introduction 1

Introduction

This guidebook highlights projects around the

country that are effectively coordinating HUD

funding with other resources in order to address 

the special needs of homeless veterans. The

purpose of the guidebook is to help inform those 

who are currently operating homeless assistance 

projects about “promising practices” in serving 

veteran clients as well as to provide useful models 

for those who are interested in developing a

project to serve homeless veterans in their community. 

Why focus on homeless veterans?

Veterans make up a significant portion of the adult homeless population in the 

United States. Recent studies estimate that veterans comprise about 23 percent of 

all homeless adults, and 33 percent of homeless men.1 Although few large-scale 

studies exist of homeless female veterans, they are believed to make up

approximately two percent of the population of homeless veterans.

Who are homeless veterans?

Most homeless veterans (98 percent) are single men. Roughly consistent with the 

general population of homeless men, about 40 percent of homeless veterans suffer 

from mental illness, and 80 percent have alcohol or other drug abuse problems (with 

considerable overlap in these populations). Yet unlike the general population, 

homeless male veterans are more likely to be White non-Hispanic, older (45+ years), 

and more educated than their non-veteran counterparts. They are also more likely to 

have longer episodes of homelessness.

Compared to homeless male veterans, homeless female veterans tend to be

younger, more likely to be married, and less likely to be employed. They are also 

more likely to suffer from serious psychiatric illness, but less likely to have a 

substance abuse disorder. With respect to substance abuse and mental illness, 

homeless female veterans do not appear to be significantly different from other 

homeless women.2
2 Introduction U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Who serves homeless veterans?

There are hundreds of non-profit, community-based, and faith-based 

organizations serving homeless veterans around the country today. It should be 

noted that of the 26 organizations that were interviewed for this guidebook, 

almost three-quarters serve only veterans or target veterans specifically, while the 

remaining organizations serve a broader mix of homeless individuals and

families. While there is an emphasis on the veteran-specific projects in this 

guidebook, many of the strategies discussed here can be adapted by projects that 

serve veterans as part of the broader community of homeless individuals. As 

such, this guidebook is intended to be useful to all different types of homeless 

assistance projects that serve veterans.

Howare homeless veterans best served?

A range of opinions and practices exists among homeless assistance providers 

regarding the types of strategies and services best suited to homeless veterans. 

Largely because of their military experience – and perhaps because the majority 

are likely to be older or to have had longer episodes of homelessness – it is 

reasonable to expect that homeless veterans will require different services or 

approaches to move toward greater stability and independence. Many

organizations believe that homeless veterans respond more positively to

programs that draw on the fellowship, discipline, and mutual commitment 

developed in the military, and have structured their services accordingly. Others 

do not employ a military structure per se, but believe that providing housing and 

services in an all-veteran environment is most effective. Still other organizations 

have chosen to serve homeless veterans among the broader population of 

homeless individuals and families, emphasizing the shared characteristics of 

mental illness, substance abuse, and the need for employment as being more 

important than their experiences as veterans.

Who funds these projects?

A variety of Federal, state, and local entities currently fund the provision of 

housing and supportive services to homeless veterans. These include the U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the U.S. Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA); the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA); a variety of Veterans Service Organizations 

(VSOs); and numerous private foundations.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Introduction 3

Howis this guidebook organized?

Chapter 1 describes the 26 projects consulted for the development of this 

guidebook. It discusses patterns found among these projects with respect to

project location, project size, target population, housing and services provided, 

project resources, staffing, and outcome measures. Chapter 2 introduces

strategies for effective resource coordination and profiles particular project

examples. Chapter 3 reviews promising practices identified among the projects, 

including those related to models of service delivery, employment and training 

initiatives, addressing clients’ long-term needs, making the most of the Board of 

Directors, serving homeless veterans in rural areas, and serving female veterans. 

Appendices I and II provide information about funding sources, other useful 

resources, and contact information for the projects that participated in the

development of this guidebook.
4 Introduction U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites 5

Chapter 1:

Overview of the Project Sites

This section introduces the project sites consulted for 

the development of this guidebook. A total of 26 

project sites were interviewed by telephone. The 

map on the following page shows the locations of 

these projects across the country. 

The projects were identified through various

channels, including consultations with staff from

Federal agencies and veterans’ service organizations. 

Participation in a telephone conference call of VA’s Grant and Per Diem funding 

recipients also yielded some recommendations. The guidebook does not attempt 

to capture the universe of “promising practices” with respect to serving homeless 

veterans, and assumes that there are many additional project examples not 

included here. The absence of any particular project does not signify a

commentary on the quality of the services it provides.

Basic background information on each project was collected through the

telephone interviews. The characteristics presented here include project location, 

size, target population, type of housing provided, supportive services, project 

resources, project staffing, and outcome measures.

ProjectLocation

The project sites are distributed across the country, with nine (35 percent) located 

in the West, nine (35 percent) in the South, four (15 percent) in the Northeast, 

and four (15 percent) in the Midwest. California has the largest number of 

projects located in a single state, making up five (or 19 percent) of the projects 

interviewed. This is followed by the state of Washington with three sites.

The vast majority (88 percent) of project sites consulted are located in urban 

settings. Only three projects interviewed served rural areas of the country, but 

given their unique settings, these projects were among the more innovative 

models of service delivery. 
Sources of Federal Funding for Project Sites

n 23 of the 26 project sites receive funding from HUD programs, including Supportive Housing Program , Emergency Shelter Grants 

Program , and Shelter Plus Care Program .

n 24 of the 26 project sites receive funding from VA programs, the majority through the Grant and Per Diem Program .

n Project sites also receive funding from the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency.

Vancouver Housing Authority

(Vancouver, WA)

Rehabilitation Services and 

Veterans Program

(Albuquerque, NM)

Vietnam Veterans Leadership 

Program of Western Pennsylvania

(Pittsburgh, PA)

Center for Veteran Issues, Ltd.

(Milwaukee, WI)

Veterans Hospice Homestead

(Fitchburg, MA)

Joseph House, Inc.

(Cincinnati, OH)

The Inner Voice Inc.

(Chicago, IL)

Volunteers of America, Florida

(Tampa, FL)

Emergency Shelter Inc.

(Richmond, VA)

Seattle Vietnam Veterans 

Leadership Program

(Seattle, WA)

South Baltimore Homeless Shelter, Inc.

(Baltimore, MD)

Minnesota Assistance 

Council for Veterans

(Duluth, MN)

Vietnam Veterans of San Diego

(San Diego, CA)

The Home of the Brave, Inc.

(Milford, DE)

Angel’s Landing

(Nashville, TN)

Swords to Plowshares

(San Francisco, CA)

Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training

(Baltimore, MD)

New Directions, Inc.

(Los Angeles, CA)

Los Angeles Family 

Housing Corporation

(Los Angeles, CA)

The Salvation Army

(Seattle, WA)

New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans

(Boston, MA)

Interlink Counseling 

Services Inc.

(Louisville, KY)

Catholic Social Services of 

Lackawanna County

(Scranton, PA)

VETSPACE, Inc.

(Gainesville, FL)

American GI Forum National 

Veterans Outreach

(San Antonio, TX)

Project Sites Interviewed
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites 7

Project Size

The size of local projects varied greatly in terms of the project capacity (as

measured by the number of beds available at any given point in time), the annual 

budget, and the number of staff employed. The smallest project interviewed has 

the capacity to serve two homeless veterans (with plans for expansion) and the 

largest project can serve up to 400 homeless veterans at any given time. 

In terms of budget size, the smallest annual budget reported is $90,000 (for a 

non-residential project) and the largest is $10 million (for a large agency that 

devotes approximately 75 percent of that amount to its veteran projects). While 

about 40 percent of projects are working with an annual budget over $1 million, 

30 percent operate with less than $250,000.

Staff size also varied greatly. One of the la rgest projects employs a staff of 132, 

with 40 employed part-time. The smallest project has one part-time project 

manager who is assisted by a graduate student intern and an active pool of 

volunteer staff. On average, the project sites have a staff of 22 people and 

typically a quarter to a half of those are hired on a part-time basis.

Target Population

Some projects target homeless veterans with particular needs. While all of the 

projects deal with substance abuse and mental illness issues among residents, 

some only allow participants to enter upon completion of a substance abuse 

treatment program or a certain period of sobriety. There are also projects that 

have opted not to accept veterans directly discharged from prison or with 

dishonorable discharges. 

Other target populations include veterans with chronic mental illnesses or dual 

diagnosis, one project serving terminally ill veterans, one project serving only 

female veterans, and one project that targets elderly homeless veterans.

Type of Housing Provided

Virtually all of the projects interviewed provide some form of transitional

housing to homeless veteran clients and almost half of the projects offer

permanent housing, such as that supported by HUD’s Shelter Plus Care or

Section 8 SRO programs. One large project reserves a portion of its allotment of 

Section 8 vouchers for use by veterans ready to exit their project. 

Most sites depend on a network of referrals and community partnerships to 

ensure the veteran client will transition successfully from homelessness to
8 Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

permanent housing. Five of the projects consulted, however, offer the complete 

continuum of care that includes emergency shelter, transitional housing, and 

permanent housing. 

Supportive Services

The provision of supportive services is an essential component to an effective 

homeless assistance project. All of the projects interviewed do whatever they 

can to link clients to the supportive services they need to make a meaningful 

transition from homelessness to a stable and productive life. Some of the 

projects are equipped with the staff and resources to meet these needs through 

direct provision of services on site. Other projects have established partnerships 

within their communities and depend upon these relationships for referring their 

clients to providers of supportive services elsewhere. Typically, projects offer a 

combination of both these models. 

There was little variance among projects in terms of the supportive services that 

they provide (either through referrals or direct service provision). These include: 

food and clothing; case management; housing assistance; life skills training; adult 

education; employment and training services; legal assistance; veterans’ benefits 

assistance; transportation; general health care; health care and support groups for 

substance abuse, mental health, and HIV/AIDS; discharge planning; and followup counseling. 

Some patterns in the delivery of services are worth noting. Almost all of the 

projects interviewed reported that they rely heavily on the VA for health services, 

including treatment for substance abuse, mental health, and HIV/AIDS. This 

explains why assisting clients to register with the VA and, if necessary, to obtain 

a discharge upgrade is a critical step for most projects wishing to take advantage 

of the VA services offered to veterans with honorable discharges. In addition to 

referring clients to the VA for treatment, many projects offer on site support 

groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Only three 

projects have medical clinics on site and two projects are co-located with a VA 

medical center. In cases where clients do not qualify for VA services, projects 

generally refer veterans to other medical care within their community. 

While the vast majority of projects offer some form of life skills and employment 

training to clients on site, most projects refer clients to other providers for GED 

or other structured education classes. For legal assistance and services related to 

accessing veteran benefits, there seems to be an even split between those projects 

that depend on a system of referrals and those that have created the capacity for 

delivering these services on site.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites 9

Discharge planning, or establishing an exit plan for each client, helps to ensure 

access to adequate follow-up services and greatly reduces the chance a client will 

relapse into drug or alcohol abuse upon leaving the project. There was disparity 

among the project sites in terms of the type and level of discharge planning 

provided. At some sites, project case managers are responsible for developing 

simple exit plans for clients. Other projects place a great deal of emphasis on this 

service, require that clients participate in the process, and employ a professional 

“discharge planner” or utilize a team approach to developing a detailed exit plan 

for each client. For more information on discharge planning, see examples 

provided in the section “Addressing Clients’ Long-Term Needs” in Chapter 3.

There is also a range in the extent to which projects follow up with former clients. 

Typically, projects try to track former clients at intervals of 30, 60, and 90 days and 

again after one year. Some projects attempt to follow up with graduates for up to 

five years. One project even charges a $25 fee to those who fail to cooperate with 

project follow-up in the first year. A few projects have organized alumni support 

groups or relapse prevention groups to assist with client follow-up. Most projects 

recognize the need to provide follow-up services to their former clients (typically 

for 6 months to a year) given the frequency of relapse, and many espouse a “once a 

client, always a client” philosophy.

Project Resources

Since the goal of this guidebook is to present “promising practices” in the area of 

resource coordination, it is no surprise that the projects included were particularly 

well versed in the area of fundraising. The projects interviewed were very

successful at securing financial support from a variety of funding sources.

In terms of Federal grants, by far the most common funding sources for the 

projects are HUD’s Supportive Housing Program (SHP) and VA’s Grant and Per 

Diem Program (GPD). Twenty-three of the 26 project sites reported receiving 

some form of HUD funding, while 24 sites reported receiving funding from the 

VA. Twenty-two of the sites (86 percent) reported receiving funds from both 

these sources. Fewer projects (7) receive monies from the DOL grant programs. 

Other Federal agencies funding projects in the sample are Health and Human 

Services (HHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but 

only a few projects had received funds from these.

Well over half of the projects reported funding from state, city, or local funding 

sources. These include state departments of veteran services, labor, homeless

services, or vocational rehabilitation. Community development block grants that are 

channeled through local jurisdictions are also supporting some of the project sites.
10 Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Nearly all (21) of the project sites receive funds from private sources, including 

foundations or individual contributions. Of these, many depend upon financial 

and in-kind donations from the broad array of Veterans Service Organizations 

(VSOs), including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled 

American Veterans. 

Project Staffing

Clearly, a project’s staff is the vehicle by which the organization accomplishes its 

mission. All of the projects interviewed recognized the importance of a skilled 

and committed staff. For the most part, the project sites have similar staffing 

patterns. While the number of staff differ across sites according to the overall 

project size, all of the projects interviewed combine full-time positions with parttime positions. 

The majority of sites (66 percent) noted the importance of employing veterans on 

staff. The presence of veterans within the project structure not only gives the 

project credibility and recognition within the veteran community, it also

establishes a comfort level for veteran clients. Among projects employing a 

“military model” for service delivery, many believe a veteran staff is critical to 

the overall project design. However, as organizations grow they tend also to 

place value on recruiting staff with relevant professional qualifications such as a 

counseling degree or license.

Indeed, many projects emphasize the need for advanced education and training 

qualifications among their staff. One third of the projects interviewed

specifically hire licensed or certified social workers and alcohol/drug counselors 

to serve their client needs. Other projects seem to value social workers who may 

or may not be licensed, but who are veterans or have associations with the 

military. Still other projects prefer to secure staff with varied life experiences, 

who may have struggled in the past with homelessness or substance abuse.

Many employ project alumni as outreach workers, counselors, and property 

managers. These projects value highly the contributions made by formerly

homeless veterans who serve as living testaments to successful project

participation. Some projects even hire current residents who are ready to take on 

a job. Typically, current residents are paid for jobs in custodial work, kitchen 

help, or security. 

In some form or another, more than half of the projects interviewed utilize 

volunteer staff to assist with a variety of project needs. Many of the volunteers 

are associated with the VSOs in the project’s service area, local churches, or 

national service organizations such as AmeriCorps and VISTA. Other volunteers 

are interns or graduate students who provide support in the areas of case
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites 11

management, legal assistance, and primary health care. They typically provide 

these services for free (or for a very low stipend) in return for the professional 

experiences they gain from such project exposure.

Yet another staff resource often comes from an organization’s Board of

Directors. Many projects interviewed purposely recruited Board members who 

could complement project staff responsibilities in the area of financial

management, real estate development, architecture, legal administration, and 

fundraising. Most tried to ensure that their Board had adequate representation 

from the veterans’ community, particularly from VSOs.

Outcome Measures

The projects monitor their progress by a variety of means and to varying degrees 

of complexity. However, most projects reported very similar outcome measures, 

including: total number of clients served; percent completing treatment; percent 

enrolled in education/training programs; percent placed in jobs; percent placed in 

permanent housing; change in income levels; and job retention rates. 

Several projects receiving HUD grant funds mentioned the use of HUD’s Annual 

Progress Report (APR) reporting requirements as the basis of their monitoring 

system. As established by HUD, the APR requires that a project report outcome 

measures in three major categories: 1) residential stability; 2) increased skills 

and/or income; and 3) progress toward self-determination. The measures include 

many of the same indicators that are listed above and enable organizations to 

formalize an annual review of project progress through the aggregation of clientlevel data.

A few projects have more elaborate ways of tracking progress at specific

intervals of a client’s advancement within a program of recovery and

stabilization. For example, one project has set up benchmarks for client progress 

at intervals of 30, 60, and 90 days, and then again at one and two years after they 

have enrolled in the project.
12 Chapter 1: Overview of Project Sites U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 13

Chapter 2:

Strategies for Effective Resource Coordination 

There is considerable variance in the structure of

housing and supportive services provided by projects 

that serve homeless veterans. While some of these 

projects may provide only one type of housing to 

clients (for example, transitional housing), others 

offer the full continuum of housing options within 

their operations – from emergency shelter to

transitional housing to permanent housing. 

Furthermore, the provision of supportive services 

may range from more limited on-site offerings

augmented by referrals to local service providers, to a comprehensive on-site 

service component.

Regardless of their housing and service structure, projects serving homeless 

veterans all recognize the need to collaborate with a variety of Federal, state, and 

local organizations. The projects interviewed emphasized the benefits of

developing a diverse set of funding partners, as well as internal sources of

revenue – such as rental income or income from on-site employment initiatives –

where possible. Having several different sources of funding helps to ensure the 

project’s long-term financial stability. In addition, because each funding source 

tends to have a different set of restrictions, developing a broad range of sources 

may be the only way to enable a project to serve its target population. As an 

example, VA funding is not available to serve homeless veterans with a less than 

honorable discharge. For projects that wish to serve all homeless veterans, 

regardless of discharge status, developing an alternative source of funding that 

does not share these restrictions is essential. 

The principal sources of Federal funding for projects serving homeless veterans 

are presented on the next page. In addition, Appendix I to this guidebook 

provides detailed information on how to access funds from a range of funding 

sources, including Federal, state, and local government, Veterans Service

Organizations, and private foundations.
14 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Major Sources ofFederalFunding for Projects Serving Homeless Veterans

n Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Through its Office of Special Needs 

Assistance Programs, HUD funds four programs that serve veteran and non-veteran homeless 

persons. These are: Supportive Housing Program (SHP); Shelter Plus Care (S+C); Single Room 

Occupancy (SRO) Program; and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program. These programs

support a wide range of activities, including emergency, transitional, and permanent housing, the

provision of supportive services, and project operating costs. For more information please visit

http://www.hud.gov/cpd/homeless.html

n Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): The VA offers several programs and initiatives to assist 

homeless veterans, including Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program; Homeless 

Chronically Mentally Ill (HCMI) Veterans Program; and Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional 

Residence (CWT/TR) Program. For more information please visit http://www.va.gov/homeless/

n Department of Labor (DOL): DOL funding in support of homeless veterans consists primarily of 

employment and training services. The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project (HVRP), 

administered by DOL’s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS), was the first nationwide 

Federal program that focused on placing homeless veterans into jobs. HVRP provides grants to 

community-based organizations that employ flexible and innovative approaches to assist homeless 

veterans re-enter the workforce. For more information please visit http://www.dol.gov/dol/vets/

n Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): HHS’ Projects for Assistance in Transition 

from Homelessness (PATH) Program is a formula grant program that funds the 50 states, District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. Territories to support service delivery to individuals with serious 

mental illnesses, as well as individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders, who are homeless 

or at risk of becoming homeless. For more information on PATH, please visit

http://www.prainc.com/nrc/path/index.shtml. Healthcare for the Homeless, another HHS program, 

provides grants to community-based organizations in urban and rural areas to deliver health care to 

homeless persons. Emphasis is placed on coordinating efforts with other community health providers 

and social service agencies. For more information, please visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/. 

n Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter

Program helps meet the needs of hungry and homeless people throughout the United States and its 

territories by allocating funds for the provision of food and shelter. These funds are disbursed to nonprofit and local government agencies to supplement the assistance they are already providing. 

Please visit http://www.efsp.unitedway.org/index.cfm.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 15

The remainder of this section provides examples of how organizations are using a 

variety of financial and programmatic resources to assist homeless veterans in 

obtaining the full range of needed services and benefits.

Partnering with the VA

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a range of programs and

initiatives to help homeless veterans live as selfsufficiently and independently as possible. These 

programs strive to offer a continuum of services 

that includes: outreach; clinical assessment and

referral for physical, psychiatric, and substance

abuse issues; long-term sheltered transitional

assistance and case management; employment

assistance; and supported permanent housing. 

Because it provides such a large, integrated

network of homeless treatment and assistance, the 

VA is considered to be an essential partner for any 

organization serving homeless veterans.

The examples below illustrate some of the ways that organizations serving

homeless veterans have benefited from partnering with the VA:

Emergency Shelter Inc., a nonprofit organization in Richmond, Virginia, 

began twenty years ago with several cots in a firehouse and has grown to 

provide a range of programs and services to homeless individuals and families. 

In 2000, Emergency Shelter partnered with the local VA hospital (the McGwire

Center) to form the Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing Program (HVTHP). 

The McGwire Center provided a building free of cost on the hospital grounds to 

house the 26-bed program. Additionally, the McGwire Center supplies ongoing 

mental health and substance abuse counseling for the program’s clients. Because 

program staff believe there are benefits to providing counseling in the residence 

itself, half of the counseling sessions take place there, with the balance taking 

place at the adjacent hospital. Emergency Shelter Inc. also joined the VA in a 

creative fundraising activity – a retired dietician from the McGwire Center

published a cookbook, all the proceeds of which went to HVTHP.

Over the past six years, the Boston-based New England Shelter for

Homeless Veterans has developed a very productive partnership with the 

VA. The Shelter has recently been working with the VA to transform unused 

buildings on VA medical campuses into single room occupancy (SRO) residences 

for homeless veterans. Two projects are currently under construction in the Boston 

area: a 60-unit project in Bedford and a 32-unit project in Brockton.

Ways to Partner with the VA

• Lease unused VA land or 

facilities

• Refer clients to VA medical 

facilities for a full range of health 

care services

• Work with VA staff for referrals 

and guidance

• Contact VA for training and 

technical assistance in benefits 

counseling
16 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Director of The Inner Voice Inc., a nonprofit housing and social 

service agency serving homeless individuals and families in the Chicago 

area, described his agency’s partnership with the VA as essential to the success 

of its work with homeless veterans. Although Inner Voice serves veterans in all 

of its homeless assistance programs, only Vet House, a 15-bed transitional 

housing facility, is dedicated exclusively to serving veterans. Vet House was 

started by two VA staff, and current project staff communicate daily with the VA 

on substance abuse and other issues pertaining to their client population. They 

also rely heavily on VA staff for referrals and guidance. Inner Voice’s Director 

believes that homeless veterans are more effectively served in veteran-specific 

facilities and that partnering with the VA allows general homeless assistance 

organizations to develop veterans’ initiatives in a cost effective manner. 

Baltimore’s Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training

(MCVET) partners with the VA to train its staff in benefits counseling. 

The VA allows MCVET to send staff to its Federal offices where training 

programs take place. In return, MCVET invites representatives from the VA to 

its facility to observe its operations. MCVET’s Director notes that having an 

experienced benefits counselor on staff can be extremely useful, because many 

homeless veterans are reluctant to use social services and are not aware of the 

services for which they are eligible. Larger organizations serving homeless 

veterans may arrange for representatives from the VA to be on site either fulltime or for several days a week to inform clients about VA benefits. Other 

Federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, may be willing to 

make similar arrangements.

Partnering with Veterans Service Organizations

Approximately one-third of the nation’s Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) 

are chartered by Congress and/or recognized by the VA for claim representation. 

Many of these are membership organizations with affiliate chapters throughout 

the country, enabling them to provide services and assistance to veterans on a 

local level. This community presence makes VSOs an ideal partner for

organizations and agencies serving homeless veterans. 

Among the project sites interviewed, the most commonly cited VSO partners 

were the American Legion, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of 

Foreign Wars, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. VSOs often provide 

direct financial awards to organizations serving homeless veterans to assist with 

administrative, operations, or supportive service costs. In addition, the women’s 

auxiliaries of VSOs are a good resource for soliciting financial and in-kind 

donations. VSOs may also provide programmatic expertise, or serve as a

community resource for the identification of prospective staff or Board members. 

For projects that rely on community partners to provide clients with supportive 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 17

services, VSOs can be an important asset. 

Local chapters often have advocates to

assist veterans with obtaining benefits from 

the VA or other Federal agencies and, in 

some cases, with petitioning for a

discharge upgrade.

The examples below illustrate some of the 

ways in which projects serving homeless 

veterans benefit from partnering with

VSOs.

The VA’s Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program in

Seattle, Washington, has negotiated a collaborative relationship with a 

local American Legion Post and a nonprofit banking service to form a foundation 

to assist homeless veterans. The American Legion post created the foundation by 

selling its building, while retaining lifetime access to the building for meetings. 

HCHV’s agreement with the American Legion makes three to five thousand 

dollars per month of foundation funds available to assist homeless veterans with 

short-term needs. 

Joseph House Inc., a nonprofit residential treatment and transitional 

housing facility for homeless veterans in Cincinnati, Ohio, receives 

about one third of its funding from charitable foundations and VSOs. The VSOs 

that support Joseph House include, among others, the American Legion,

AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Joseph 

House has been very successful in accessing VSO resources – 40 of 60 local 

posts and chapters support the organization through financial contributions and 

in-kind donations. Some of these organizations also provide assistance with 

benefits counseling and discharge upgrades. Joseph House’s Board of Directors, 

which is mainly comprised of leaders in the veterans’ community, has been

instrumental in helping to secure the support of local VSOs.

Baltimore’s MCVET draws upon VSO resources to assist in its staff

recruitment efforts. MCVET tries to identify potential staff with a high 

level of interest in veterans’ issues and a propensity for the type of work

required. The organization has been successful in recruiting staff by networking 

with local VSO and military personnel and advertising through The Retired 

Officers Association. 

Ways that VSOs Can Assist Projects 

Serving Homeless Veterans 

• Financial and In-kind Donations

• Fundraising

• Programmatic Expertise and 

Guidance

• Benefits Counseling

• Participation on Board of Directors

• Staff Recruitment
18 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Partnering with Community and/or Faith-Based Health

and Social Service Organizations

In most parts of the country, the biggest challenge to delivering housing and 

services to homeless veterans is not the lack of resources (although in many places 

resources are scarce), but the lack of coordination among local providers. City, 

county, and state homeless coalitions, where they exist, serve as lightning rods for 

coordination among local service providers. Participating in local homeless

coalitions – such as those created through the VA’s CHALENG initiative and 

HUD’s comprehensive homeless planning process – or creating a local coalition 

around a particular project site, allows organizations to interact with each other and 

build upon each other’s strengths. Participation in such coalitions also may be a 

prerequisite for receiving Federal funds. For example, participation in HUD’s 

comprehensive homeless planning process makes communities (and individual 

organizations) highly competitive for receipt of McKinney Homeless Assistance 

funding through the Homeless SuperNOFA process.

Participating in annual Stand Down events is also a good way for individual 

organizations to make initial contact with local partners and resources in the 

homeless veterans’ services community. The peacetime Stand Down was started 

by Vietnam Veterans of San Diego in 1988 to give homeless veterans one to 

three days of safety and security where they could obtain food, shelter, clothing, 

and a range of other types of assistance. Today, the Stand Down is typically a 

three-day event in which multiple agencies and nonprofit organizations 

collaborate to provide comprehensive access to services for hundreds of

homeless veterans and their families – including shelter, clothing, legal and 

medical assistance, social services, substance abuse and mental health

counseling, and referral to jobs and transitional housing. Stand Down events 

currently take place annually in about 200 cities throughout the U.S. 

While the Stand Down provides a unique opportunity for organizations to

identify local partners, in order to build effective partnerships, organizations must 

continue to invest in mutual assistance and collaborative ventures over the long 

term. The Los Angeles Family Housing Corporation (LAFHC), the only

homeless shelter in California’s San Fernando Valley, has been particularly 

successful in attracting community- and faith-based organizations to provide 

services on site. LAFHC staff pointed out that even longstanding partnerships 

need continued attention and “nurturing.” As an example, when a partner

organization asks LAFHC to help an individual who is not already an LAFHC 

client, LAFHC tries to do its best to respond to the request. The case manager 

for the VA’s Healthcare for Homeless Veterans program in Seattle offered

similar advice to organizations seeking out potential partners – “be helpful to 

potential partners before expecting something in return.”
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 19

Funding Note...

The Veterans Mobile Service Center 

receives funding from the VA’s Per 

Diem Program to support the services 

that it provides to homeless veterans. 

The funding for services not connected 

with housing is $1.10 for each half-hour 

during which services are provided, up 

to $17.60 a day per veteran.

The examples below highlight some of the ways that projects serving homeless 

veterans have used local partnerships to enhance the range of services they are 

able to provide to clients: 

Volunteers of America Florida (VOA-FLA) provides housing and supportive 

services to low income and homeless individuals and families statewide. 

VOA-FLA launched the Veterans Mobile Service Center to address the needs of 

homeless veterans living in rural encampments. The Service Center is a 40-foot van 

equipped with two exam rooms and dental facilities that performs outreach and

intervention to veterans and other homeless

individuals statewide. In addition to providing 

basic health and counseling services, the Service 

Center plays an important role in service

coordination in the areas it visits. Where possible, 

Service Center staff work to connect homeless

veterans with local agencies and community-based 

organizations in order to increase their potential for 

housing stability. During the first year of its

operations, the Service Center planned its route to 

coincide with local Stand Downs, where it was able to 

reach out to large number of veterans and establish relationships with local service 

organizations. Currently, the Service Center plans to travel to more remote areas 

where there are fewer resources and the service coordination challenges are greater. 

The fact that the Service Center serves non-veteran homeless individuals as well as 

homeless veterans helps it to gain the cooperation of the full spectrum of homeless 

assistance providers. This is particularly important in areas where resources are 

scarce. 

The Home of the Brave, Inc., located in the rural community of Milford, 

Delaware, operates an emergency shelter and transitional housing

facility for homeless male and female veterans. In addition, through subletting 

agreements that it has developed with local churches and charitable

organizations, the agency is able to offer fully subsidized apartments to clients. 

Home of the Brave’s director believes that it is crucial to provide fully subsidized 

housing and supportive services to clients while they build up their income and 

savings. The partnerships that Home of the Brave has developed with local 

community and faith-based organizations have been instrumental in allowing the 

agency to offer a full range of supportive services on a limited budget. 

The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans uses community

partnerships to expand the range of health services offered on site. The 

Shelter has a partnership with the New England School of Optometry through 

which optometry students provide free eye examinations and glasses at a nominal 

fee to clients. The Shelter has also established an on-site dental clinic in
20 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

partnership with Harvard Vanguard Dental Group. Volunteer dentists, hygienists 

and dental assistants provide screenings, cleanings, and extractions to residents at 

weekly clinics. State of the art dental equipment was donated and supplies are 

provided on an ongoing basis by a private dental supply company. Finally, 

medical professionals from local hospitals and health care centers volunteer their 

services at the Shelter. This program enables Shelter clients to receive on-site 

health assessments and treatment of acute medical problems, screening for 

infectious disease, and referrals to local pharmaceutical dispensaries. This is 

especially important for Shelter clients who are not eligible for VA health

services.

At Vancouver Housing Authority’s Central Park Place, a 124-unit SRO 

facility for homeless men and women in Vancouver, Washington, a 

coalition of the VA and five local service providers provides residents with a full 

range of supportive services. Members of the coalition refer clients to Central 

Park Place, and then continue to provide case management to the clients. 

Because residents bring their service plan and case management with them from 

the referring agency, they enjoy a continuity of care. Each resident’s case plan 

also becomes a part of their lease agreement. Property management and service 

coordination staff on site meet with residents’ case managers on an as-needed 

basis, to ensure that residents are receiving the support and services that they 

need to live successfully in the facility. This collaborative arrangement allows 

Vancouver Housing Authority, the project sponsor, to leverage the expertise of 

local service providers and minimize the number of on-site staff. The consultant 

involved in developing Central Park Place believes that the decision to serve both 

veterans and non-veterans gave the project access to a broader range of funding 

sources and partnership opportunities than would otherwise have been available.

Partnering with LawEnforcement and Legal Assistance

Organizations

Organizations serving homeless veterans recognize the need to address the wide 

range of issues facing their clients – including legal issues. The most common of 

these is non-payment of child support, but clients may also have unresolved legal 

issues related to drug charges, DUI, etc. While some organizations provide 

clients with access to on-site legal counsel, others address this need through 

referrals to community resources such as Legal Aid offices or private attorneys 

willing to handle pro bono cases. In some instances, an organization may 

collaborate with the local district attorney and public defender to assist clients in 

negotiating a resolution to their legal issues.

The examples below illustrate some of the ways in which projects serving 

homeless veterans seek to address their clients’ legal needs through local

partnerships.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 21

Funding Note...

HUD’s Supportive Housing 

Program (SHP) helps to fund the 

day-to-day operations and staff at 

VVSD’s Veteran’s Rehabilitation 

Center. SHP funds may be used 

to support a range of activities 

involved in providing housing and 

services to homeless veterans. 

Vietnam Veterans of San Diego (VVSD) is 

a nonprofit organization serving

homeless veterans and their families in San Diego 

County, California. VVSD manages about 200 beds 

of transitional housing across the county and runs 

several employment and training programs. VVSD

has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the 

San Diego District Attorney to collaborate on nonpayment of child support. Through this partnership, 

VVSD staff are able to help clients negotiate feasible 

payment plans and other solutions to their child support 

issues.

Residents of Inner Voice’s Vet House transitional housing facility for 

homeless veterans are encouraged to participate in the organization’s 

“rapid motivation group,” a series of two-hour life skills classes held weekly at 

Inner Voice’s Learning Center. At least once a quarter, the group hosts speakers 

from the local law center who address the most common legal issues confronting 

homeless individuals and explain the range of services available through Legal 

Aid. In addition, two members of Inner Voice’s Board of Directors are lawyers, 

one of whom volunteers his services to residents with non-felony cases. These 

lawyers periodically also conduct seminars on getting records expunged.

The Los Angeles Family Housing Corporation (LAFHC), which runs two 

transitional housing programs for homeless veterans, has developed a 

number of community partnerships designed to bring supportive services on site 

to meet clients’ various needs. One of these partnerships is with Bet Tzedek 

Legal Services, which comes on site every other week to provide legal advice 

and services to LAFHC clients. Residents can also access legal services off-site 

through Public Counsel, a large pro bono law firm in Los Angeles.

New Directions, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the 

long-term needs of homeless male and female veterans in Los Angeles, 

California, participates in a local “Homeless Court”

system. The Homeless Court travels monthly to

homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities to 

mete out judgments for minor infractions and help clear 

warrants. The judgments often contain an agreement 

whereby offenders can count the time that they have 

spent in a program such as New Directions toward

community service requirements.

Los Angeles’s Homeless 

Court system helps homeless 

individuals resolve minor legal 

issues efficiently by bringing 

the judge and courtroom 

directly to the project site.
22 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Partnering with Employers, Employment Agencies, and

Workforce Development Organizations

Employment and training services are often key components of projects serving 

homeless veterans. As such, it is important that the organization or project staff 

develop relationships with local employers, employment agencies, and workforce 

development organizations to maximize the resources and benefits available to 

their clients. These partnerships can help provide clients with more

comprehensive skills assessment and job development, as well as vocational 

guidance and access to off-site vocational training programs. 

The examples below highlight some of the employment and training partnerships 

undertaken by projects serving homeless veterans.

MCVET offers job readiness services and placement assistance to all 

residents. These services are designed to get residents into well-paid jobs 

with benefits, rather than the minimum wage jobs that will not be sufficient to 

support them once they leave the program. MCVET’s employment services are 

supported by two on-site staff funded by the state: a Maryland job services 

officer funded by the State Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; and 

a vocational counselor funded by the State Department of Vocational

Rehabilitation. MCVET’s Director stresses the value of having representatives 

from the state employment agencies on site because of the large number of 

educational and job training programs funded at the state level. It is usually 

possible for programs serving 250 or so homeless veterans per year to arrange to 

have state employment representatives on site.

The Salvation Army’s William Booth Center, which provides housing 

and supportive services to homeless male veterans in Seattle,

Washington, has developed a strong working relationship with area unions. The 

unions place a high value on the skills and work ethic of the veterans in the 

Booth Center’s program, and thus are willing to serve as the primary partner for 

placing veterans in both skilled positions and apprenticeships. Similarly,

Vietnam Veterans of San Diego has recently signed a contract with the AFL-CIO 

to place residents of its Veterans Rehabilitation Center in apprenticeships.

South Baltimore Shelter Inc. (SBS) has been successful in developing 

partnerships with local employers to expand the opportunities available 

to residents of its South Baltimore Station, a 40-bed transitional housing program 

for men who are homeless by reason of chronic substance abuse. (SBS is not a 

veteran-specific organization, but typically about 35 percent of the residents in 

the South Baltimore Station project are veterans.) SBS has an arrangement with 

the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore whereby project graduates are placed in 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 2: Resource Coordination 23

employment in outdoor maintenance and clean up in the city and are provided 

with subsidized housing. This program is intended to last six months to one year, 

at which point participants are expected move on to more permanent employment 

and housing. SBS also has partners in the business community, such as the large 

real estate development company Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, who use their 

influence with their subcontractors and affiliates to promote employment for 

South Baltimore Station residents.

Partnering with Local Schools and Colleges

Partnerships with local schools, colleges, and universities can yield many

benefits for projects serving homeless veterans. These partnerships may serve to 

augment the education and training services provided by project staff. For

example, professional educators may

conduct educational assessments and

provide on-site remedial education or

vocational training to project clients. In 

addition, project staff may refer clients to 

local colleges and universities to pursue a 

degree or certification. It is essential,

however, that the course of study be

something that will assist the client in

fulfilling his/her employment goals. 

Furthermore, it is important to ensure a

good match between the client and the

educational institution, so that the client has every opportunity to succeed. 

For smaller projects, partnering with a local college or university can

significantly enhance staffing and service capabilities. Through internship

programs with schools of social work, counseling, and nursing, a project can gain 

the assistance of qualified staff and at the same time provide students with 

valuable, supervised work experience. Typically, however, the project must have 

at least one licensed social worker to legitimize it as an internship site for Master 

of Social Work (MSW) students.

The following examples illustrate some of the many benefits derived from

partnering with local schools and colleges.

Interlink Counseling Services (ICS) is a nonprofit organization in

Louisville, Kentucky, serving homeless individuals with drug and

alcohol addictions that runs a residential treatment facility that targets homeless 

veterans. Although the agency provides extensive treatment and counseling 

services on-site, it relies heavily on partnerships with local schools and

universities to address clients’ educational and job training needs. In particular, 

Ways that Schools and Colleges 

Support Homeless Assistance Projects

• Conducting educational testing

• Offering remedial education and job 

training classes on site

• Providing financial aid for vocational 

courses

• Providing interns to work as parttime staff
24 Chapter 2: Resource Coordination U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

ICS has developed a partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools to provide 

adult basic education and GED classes. ICS clients are also able attend collegelevel classes through partnerships with the University of Kentucky at Louisville 

and Jefferson Community College.

Swords to Plowshares, a community-based nonprofit organization

serving homeless veterans, recently opened the Veterans Academy of the 

Presidio, a 100-unit residential education and job training facility located in San 

Francisco’s Presidio park complex. The Veterans Academy relies on

partnerships with local universities to provide on-site academic instruction and 

vocational training. Participation in education and training activities is

mandatory for Academy residents, and the partnerships allow the program to 

offer a range of courses from computers to culinary arts to park management. 

Faculty from the local university and city college teach most of the courses on a 

volunteer basis. On a given day, the Veterans Academy may have as many as six 

or seven volunteers on site. Program staff hope in the near future to develop a 

partnership with the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Nursing, 

whereby USF nursing students can spend their internship working at the

Academy. The organization already has in place a similar arrangement for its 

other programs. 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 25

Chapter 3:

Promising Practices Among Projects Serving 

Homeless Veterans

This section provides examples of promising practices

identified among the project sites interviewed for this 

guidebook. The interviews highlighted several areas of 

program implementation where there were promising

practices thought to be useful to new projects or those

considering adding homeless veterans to their client base. 

These were:

ß Models of service delivery;

ß Employment and training initiatives;

ß Addressing clients’ long-term needs;

ß Making the most of the Board of Directors;

ß Serving veterans in rural areas; and

ß Serving female veterans.

Models of Service Delivery

There is a wide range of models that projects have found effective in delivering 

services to homeless veterans. At one end of the spectrum are those who believe 

that homeless veterans have distinct needs that are best served through a

specialized service approach. For example, some veteran-focused projects

structure their entire operations around a “military model,” designed to remind 

clients of what for many was a very productive phase in their lives. 

Conversely, other homeless assistance providers discount the notion of a distinct 

service strategy for veterans, and instead believe that veterans and non-veterans 

can thrive in a communal living environment and find common ground in their 

shared challenges – such as, drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness,

unemployment, and homelessness. There are, of course, many other projects 

whose philosophy and approach lies somewhere in the middle. For example, 

some projects serving a broader population of homeless individuals and families 

may set aside a part of their facility for veterans, or may structure a subset of 

services – such as benefits counseling – around issues of interest to veterans. 
26 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The examples below illustrate the range of service delivery models employed to 

address the needs of homeless veterans. 

MCVET’s structured “military model” emphasizes individual accountability, 

self-discipline, organization, and teamwork. Residents of MCVET’s

emergency shelter and transitional housing facilities are organized into platoons and 

squadrons and are held accountable to each other and the designated platoon leaders. 

They are also assigned regular chores to promote involvement in facility operations. 

All residents are encouraged to attain platoon leader positions and platoon leaders are 

encouraged to mentor new arrivals. This military approach is designed to provide 

order and structure to people whose lives have become unmanageable and

unstructured. Peer pressure is also used to promote individual accountability and 

responsibility. Residents are expected to meet certain standards of appearance and to 

use the program to reorder their lives and return to the community as productive 

citizens. MCVET’s permanent housing program, an 80-unit Single Room

Occupancy facility, does not impose the same type of military structure, but

continues to require high standards of resident behavior. Although it is not a 

prerequisite, many of the staff and Board of Directors at MCVET – and all program 

staff – are themselves veterans. 

Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program of Western PA (VVLP-PA), 

which provides housing and supportive services to homeless veterans 

and their families in the Pittsburgh area, has not adopted a military model but 

recognizes that veterans face a different set of issues 

from the general homeless population and tries to meet 

those needs. VVLP-PA’s social service coordinator 

believes that the key to serving clients successfully is 

to develop a trusting relationship with them. There are 

several components to developing this relationship with homeless veterans. The 

first is to engage with the mindset that veterans may bring to service agencies – a 

sense that they are owed assistance. VVLP-PA makes it clear to its clients that it 

does not subscribe to this philosophy, but nevertheless will do anything in its 

power to help them address their problems and regain control of their lives. 

Second, program staff must be broadly representative of the clients that they 

serve. Of the organization’s 13 full-time staff, 12 are veterans and several have 

been homeless and are recovering addicts. The staff is also 50 percent minority, 

reflecting the racial composition of the agency’s clients. The third key to 

fostering trusting relationships is to have in place strong confidentiality and 

conflict of interest policies for staff to follow.

Central Park Place, located on the Veterans Affairs campus in 

Vancouver, Washington, serves single homeless men and women, with a 

50/50 mix of veterans and non-veterans. Central Park Place does not structure its 

housing or services differently for its veteran versus non-veteran residents; 

however, residents who are veterans develop distinct case management plans and 

VVLP is the only organization targeting 

homeless veterans in the United Way

of Allegheny County and receives

significant funding through this channel.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 27

have a different set of resources available to them from non-veterans, most 

importantly the use of the VA campus and medical facilities. Central Park Place 

does not adhere to a “military model” of service delivery. In their experience, the 

majority of the homeless veterans that they work with do not view their time in 

the military as a high point in their lives; rather, they want to put that time behind 

them. As a result, project staff try to honor the veterans, but also emphasize that 

all residents facing similar problems should be treated equally. 

Employment and Training Initiatives

Many of the project staff interviewed made the point that homeless veterans tend 

to come from a background of achievement and discipline, and as a result are 

often better equipped to work toward employment and self-sufficiency than the 

general population of homeless individuals. Almost all of the projects

interviewed place a great deal of emphasis on employment and job training 

initiatives to build upon the considerable skills of 

this population to encourage long-term employment 

and housing stability. Some of the projects manage 

small business enterprises in which program

participants gained valuable experience in a real 

work setting. It should be noted that programs with 

a strong substance abuse treatment component

normally have employment initiatives as a second 

phase in their clients’ recovery. The first phase,

following detoxification, is often spent in

meditation and group therapy sessions designed to address the physical,

psychiatric, and spiritual issues behind the addiction. 

The examples below provide illustrations of some of the more innovative

employment and training initiatives that projects have undertaken to help their 

clients build the skills and experience needed to secure well-paid and stable 

employment over the long term.

The American GI Forum National Veterans Outreach Program (NVOP) in 

San Antonio, Texas, received funding from the U.S. Department of 

Commerce to build and operate Veterans Enterprises of Texas (VET), a 25,000 

square foot corrugated box manufacturing plant targeting homeless and handicapped 

veterans for training and employment. Now in its fourth year of operation, VET 

employs 40 workers and has annual sales in excess of $4 million, primarily through a 

large contract with the U.S. Postal Service. NVOP clients generally work part time 

in the VET plant while taking a class to upgrade their skills. This employment gives 

them an opportunity to work on their job skills while generating some income. Most 

clients will go on to other employment after a short period of time working at the 

VET plant, but some stay on full time. The plant generates modest profits that 

Employment and Training Initiatives 

offered to Homeless Veterans

• Specialized education

• Career planning and counseling

• Job training programs

• On-site small business enterprises
28 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Funding Note...

VVLP-PA receives funding from 

the Department of Labor’s 

HVRP Program to support its 

employment initiatives. HVRP 

provides grants to communitybased organizations that employ 

flexible and innovative 

approaches to assist homeless 

veterans re-enter the workforce.

NVOP channels back into its service budget. It also gives the NVOP an opportunity 

to “put its money where its mouth is,” showing other local employers that it has 

confidence in the skills and work ethic of its clients. 

Rehabilitation Services and Veterans Program (RS&VP) has been 

serving homeless veterans in the Albuquerque area since 1996. The 

organization recently purchased a dilapidated motel that, when renovated, will 

become the state’s first transitional housing and training facility for homeless 

veterans. RS&VP clients and volunteers have been working to rehabilitate the 

facility for initial occupancy; once open, residents will have the opportunity to 

learn marketable construction skills through the remaining renovation work. In 

addition, RS&VP will offer several on-the-job training programs connected to 

the ongoing operations and maintenance of the facility, which will be managed as 

a “hotel for the homeless.” Current plans include training in restaurant work, 

landscaping and custodial maintenance, pool maintenance, and hotel

management. Once renovation is complete, the facility will

provide transitional housing for 96 homeless male and female 

veterans. RS&VP has received funding for this project from 

HUD, DOL, VA, the State of New Mexico, Bernalillo County, 

and the City of Albuquerque.

Although it regularly offers specialized job training and 

educational programs in conjunction with particular grants 

or funding sources, Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program of

Western PA (VVLP-PA) also operates an ongoing career counseling 

and job placement program designed to assist its target population of 

underemployed or unemployed homeless veterans. The program

consists of six components: 

• career counseling and needs assessment (whether pursuing 

continued employment in the same field or seeking a career change, clients 

work one-on-one with a career advisor to develop an action plan that best 

utilizes their potential and experience); 

• a weekly Job Club for sharing job leads and job search strategies; 

• Vet Net, which offers job search assistance through outside speakers who 

address employment related topics as well as networking opportunities; 

• a Job Book with up-dated job listings from employers who are interested in 

hiring veterans; 

• workshops on resume writing, interview techniques, job search and

networking tactics, and job retention; and 

• post placement follow-up by career advisors.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 29

Addressing Clients’ Long-Term Needs

Studies have shown that the longer a homeless individual is able to receive 

supportive services, the less likely he or she is to fall back into homelessness. 

Alcoholism and drug addiction are lifetime diseases, from which recovery is a 

daily struggle. In addition to alcohol and substance abuse issues, many homeless 

veterans suffer from mental illnesses that may require long-term treatment. For 

these reasons, it is essential that all projects serving homeless veterans make

provisions for their long-term needs, even if the project itself has a one or two 

year time limit. 

Two key components of addressing clients’ long-term needs are discharge 

planning and follow up. Discharge planning is the process by which projects can 

ensure that graduating or exiting clients have the income, housing, support 

networks, and services that they require to avoid returning to homelessness. 

Ideally, the discharge planner will begin working with a client six months before 

they plan to leave the project to develop a

structured exit plan. This plan may involve the 

client reuniting with family members, moving 

to another supportive housing facility, or

securing permanent housing. Discharge

planners often assist clients in applying for 

housing through Federally-subsidized programs 

such as Section 8. If the discharge planner has 

developed a working relationship with the local 

housing authority, the application can often be 

processed more quickly. The housing authority 

may even agree to reserve a portion of its Section 8 vouchers for use by homeless 

veterans. 

A further step that projects should take to help ensure that homeless veterans’ longterm needs are met is to follow up with former clients on a regular basis. Typically, 

organizations try to track former clients at intervals of 30, 60, and 90 days, and again 

after one year. Although this can be challenging, conducting follow-up meetings or 

telephone calls is the only way to ensure that former clients are continuing to receive 

the services and support that they may need to avoid a return to homelessness.

The following examples illustrate some of the ways in which projects are

working to ensure that they meet their clients’ needs over the long term. 

Discharge Planning and 

Follow-up Services

• Housing search

• Job placement

• Budget management

• 12-Step aftercare

• Alumni groups

• Follow-up case management
30 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Rehabilitation Services and Veterans Program (RS&VP) in Albuquerque, 

New Mexico, plans to offer comprehensive follow-up services to graduates 

of its new transitional housing and training program for homeless veterans. In

addition to providing housing search and placement services to project graduates at 

the end of their two-year term, RS&VP staff will offer 12-step aftercare, job

placement services, budget management training and representative payee service, 

VA disability upgrade assistance, and social security disability reviews on an

ongoing basis. In addition, the organization will provide transportation assistance –

mostly in the form of bus tokens – on an as-needed basis for up to six months. 

Finally, recent project graduates will be offered mentorship opportunities with

project staff, community members, or other successful project graduates who have 

been living self-sufficiently and drug and alcohol free. 

At Inner Voice’s Vet House, an active alumni group plays an important 

role in following up with project graduates and counseling current

participants on the road ahead. The alumni group was started by the first group 

of project graduates and continues to meet monthly at Vet House. The alumni 

group also participates in annual events such as the Stand Down. Inner Voice’s 

Director considers the alumni group to be the project’s greatest asset for longterm client follow-up. 

Catholic Social Services (CSS) of Lackawanna County, located in

Scranton, Pennsylvania, provides a continuum of housing for homeless 

veterans, ranging from emergency shelter facilities to Supportive Housing and 

SRO programs, in one location, in two adjacent buildings. CSS staff believe that 

this structure is very valuable in serving clients over the long term, because it 

allows individuals to move through the different programs while avoiding the 

stress of adjusting to a new environment, new staff, and new case managers. 

CSS encourages clients who encounter difficulties to return to their former 

program or to enter a different program that is most appropriate for their current 

situation. Staff describe this as a consumer oriented approach, because it benefits 

all clients in allowing them to transition smoothly to whichever level of 

programming best addresses their needs at a particular time. Clients are

encouraged to move toward greater levels of independence, but if a particular 

situation does not work out, the ease with which clients can return to a more 

supervised and supportive living arrangement reduces their risk of falling back 

into homelessness.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 31

Making the Most of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors should serve as the “steering wheel” of the organization. 

Diverse representation on the Board is important, especially if an organization is 

trying to garner support from a variety of 

partner organizations and agencies. In

addition, many newer organizations choose 

to have an all-veteran Board of Directors to 

increase support within the veteran

community and particularly with local

VSOs. As an organization grows and

develops, however, these needs may

change; it may become important to have 

Board members with expertise in business 

and finance. A number of the projects sites 

interviewed discussed the need to become 

more skilled in private-sector fundraising. Including a development specialist on 

the Board of Directors is a good way to do so. 

In addition to a full Board of Directors, organizations may have other governance 

or advisory structures in place. For example, they may have Executive

Committees or Advisory Groups that consult on program matters or work with 

staff on issues before they are taken to the Board. 

It is very important for nonprofit organizations to stay within their mission and to 

be specific about their programs, services, and outcomes. They must have the 

services and structures in place to assist clients toward greater self-sufficiency 

and housing stability. A good Board of Directors can help an organization stay 

on track by monitoring progress, as well as looking ahead to determine what is 

needed to achieve its goals.

The examples below highlight various ways in which organizations have tried to 

leverage the skills and experiences represented on the Board of Directors.

Veterans Outreach North (VON) is one of four branches of the

Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV). While MACV 

has a Board of Directors for the entire organization based in Minneapolis, VON 

also has its own volunteer advisory committee drawn from local partner agencies. 

Committee members include a licensed psychologist, a representative of the 

Department of Rehabilitation Services, a retired colonel who runs the

employment office at the VA clinic, and two representatives from the Salvation 

Army. Each member of the advisory committee brings specific skills and 

valuable knowledge to the table and therefore can provide guidance in

identifying the community needs on which VON should focus.

How to Build a Strong Board of Directors

• Choose members with diverse 

backgrounds – legal, business, 

finance, service delivery, etc.

• Include representatives from the 

veteran community, VSOs, etc.

• Utilize the expertise of the Board for 

fundraising, staff development and 

strategic planning
32 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Board of Directors for MCVET consists of 17 people, including the 

head of the Baltimore VA health system; a supportive housing

developer; a lawyer; a political figure; a state-level homeless services advocate; a 

financial advisor; and past commanders of the American Legion, Veterans of 

Foreign Wars, and Jewish War Veterans. As required in MCVET’s by-laws, the 

Board also includes two project graduates. There is also an executive committee, 

which alternates monthly meetings with the full Board, and sub-committees for 

key functional areas, such as development and finance. MCVET views its Board 

of Directors as an important resource for generating fundraising contacts in the 

community.

San Francisco’s Swords to Plowshares has a nine-member Board of 

Directors, with backgrounds in finance, fundraising, administration,

legal, job development, program management, and business. The Board is quite 

active on some projects, including the Veterans Academy. In addition, the 

Veterans Academy benefits from being part of the organizational structure of the 

Presidio park complex in which it is located. Two Veterans Academy residents 

serve as “mayoral” representatives to the larger Presidio community (comprised 

of other businesses and organizations). There are monthly meetings, and the 

Presidio helps to recruit volunteers for the various organizations residing within, 

including the Veterans Academy.

With the addition of a 45-bed facility for dually-diagnosed homeless 

individuals opening later this year, Los Angeles’s New Directions is at a 

critical juncture in its history, moving from a medium-sized to a large

organization. In response to this growth, the organization has decided that it 

needs to re-evaluate its Board structure, to ensure that the Board can continue to 

be effective with the new demands placed on the agency. New Directions may 

also retain a Retired Executives Group to assist with the transition and the 

development of a new strategic plan and fundraising initiatives. 

Serving Homeless Veterans in Rural Areas

The majority of examples of promising practices discussed thus far come from 

projects located in urban areas. Serving homeless veterans in rural areas presents 

a unique set of challenges as well as a great opportunity to address the needs of a 

vastly under-served population. Among the three projects interviewed that are 

located in rural areas, each faces particular challenges associated with: 

• coordinating scarce resources across significant distances;

• reaching out to potential clients in remote areas;

• providing the transportation needed for clients to access services; and
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 33

Ways to Reach out to Homeless 

Veterans in Rural Areas

• Mobile health care units

• Crisis intervention 

• Coordinating scarce resources

• Transportation services 

• addressing the health issues that attend upon a population without ready 

access to VA or other medical centers. 

Homeless veterans who have been living in isolated areas for long periods of 

time may require more intensive additional 

health and counseling services before

transitional housing programs can be

effective. Moreover, in some regions,

health, housing, substance abuse, and

employment services may be few and far 

between, and organizations often need to 

engage in creative partnerships in order to 

provide their clients access to the full range 

of services.

Serving homeless veterans in rural areas is an area of great opportunity that 

warrants further attention at the national and local level. The following examples 

illustrate some of the ways in which existing projects are working to address 

these issues: 

Volunteers of America Florida developed its Veterans Mobile Service 

Center in response to a documented need for health services and housing 

among an aging population of homeless veterans living in remote and rural parts 

of the state. The Service Center provides immediate crisis intervention, health 

assessments, and basic medical and dental treatment on-site, but also recognizes 

the need to connect clients to available services on a longer-term basis. Service 

Center staff thus work very closely with local organizations and, in some cases, 

family members, to make appropriate referrals for their clients. The Service 

Center has also received a Federal grant that allows the staff to place clients in 

rooming houses and small hotels for 30 to 60 days while they try to locate

appropriate transitional or permanent housing. One of the ongoing challenges 

that the Service Center faces is balancing the tremendous demand for its services 

with the need to return to the same areas with some consistency. Currently, 

Service Center staff depend on local partner agencies to develop long-term 

relationships with the clients referred to them through the Service Center. 

Located in downtown Duluth, Minnesota, Veterans Outreach North

(VON) provides outreach to homeless veterans in urban, suburban, and 

rural areas. Although VON manages a ten unit transitional housing facility and 

offers Alcoholics Anonymous, life skills, and case management services on site, 

the program functions primarily as a clearinghouse, matching homeless veterans 

with appropriate services and residential programs. VON receives referrals from 

a wide variety of locations – local police departments, County Veterans Services 

Offices, the street, bars, etc. VON then conducts intake for each referred client 

and identifies whether the services provided on-site or linkages with partner 
34 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

service organizations would be most appropriate to meet their individual needs. 

In order to expand the services available to homeless veterans living in rural 

areas, VON plans to hire an additional staff person to spend the majority of his or 

her time on the road conducting outreach in more remote parts of the state. 

Veterans’ Hospice Homestead, which provides transitional housing in 

two suburban communities in Massachusetts, also runs a Mobile

Medical Unit that serves homeless veterans who do not have transportation to the 

VA Medical Center. The 40-foot van offers general health services such as 

primary care and EKGs. If clients have more specialized needs, they are referred 

and transported to other facilities. The clerk and two medical personnel that staff 

the Mobile Medical Unit are funded by the VA; HUD funds the full-time driver. 

Serving Female Veterans

Many of the project sites interviewed for this guidebook expressed an interest in 

serving female veterans. Several project expressed regret that they had not been 

able to recruit as many female veterans as they had hoped. Others were unsure as 

to how to best address the distinct challenges facing homeless female veterans. 

Rceent survey data suggest that women make up a low percentage of the

population of homeless veterans, somewhere in the range of two to three percent. 

Like homeless male veterans, homeless female tend to possess a higher level of 

skills than their non-veteran counterparts. However, homeless female veterans 

often lack specific or transferable job skills that homeless male veterans have 

acquired. They also are more likely to have 

children, making it difficult for them to access 

housing and services. Many shelters are not 

designed for families, or can accommodate

only single men. 

In addition, a 1998 Report of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on 

Women Veterans cited survey data suggesting 

that about 20 percent of all female veterans 

accessing VA care have reported instances of 

sexual assault, trauma, and harassment during 

their military service.3 Because many

organizations serving homeless veterans are co-educational (and serve mostly 

men), homeless female veterans accessing these services may continue to find 

themselves in situations where they feel threatened or uncomfortable.

To address the unique issues facing homeless female veterans, some service 

providers advocate segregated housing as well as supportive services. Because 

Strategies for Serving Female 

Veterans

• Establish separate or specialized 

services, with female staff

• Include services to address mental 

health issues, PTSD, sexual 

trauma, etc. 

• Develop sponsor/mentor programs

• Tailor skills training and job 

development 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Chapter 3: Promising Practices 35

this may not be possible for all projects serving homeless female veterans,

another option is to provide some separate or specialized services, such as female 

intake, counseling, and case management staff, and gender-specific group

sessions. Homeless female veterans may also benefit from a more individualized 

approach to skills training and job development. In short, projects serving this 

population have found that women simply do better with other women at this 

critical time in their lives. The increased level of comfort afforded them in an 

atmosphere that is safe and supportive can go a long way toward improving their 

chances for success. 

The following examples provide an illustration of how two of the projects 

interviewed have tried to provide effective housing and supportive services to 

homeless female veterans.

Angel’s Landing is the first transitional housing facility for homeless 

female veterans in Tennessee. Angel’s Landing was developed in 1999 by 

several members of an outreach and education group called the Women Veterans 

Network (WVN) that had formed two years earlier at the Nashville Campus of the 

VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. This grassroots effort was in large part a 

response to the unsafe conditions that homeless female veterans were facing in 

male-dominated shelters. In partnership with Operation Stand Down, a local 

nonprofit agency, WVN operates this three-bed facility. In roughly two and a half 

years of operation, Angel’s Landing has served over 20 women. The Women 

Veterans Program Manager at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System

oversees the project and provides individual case management to residents on a 

weekly basis. A resident manager, who originally came to Angel’s Landing as a 

client and still resides there, orients new residents to the facility. In addition, each 

resident is assigned a “sister sponsor” from the Women’s Veterans Network who 

works closely with the resident to assess needs and progress, as well as to involve 

her in the larger support network. 

Through her experience as a clinical specialist in psychiatric mental health at the 

VA, the Program Manager for Angel’s Landing acknowledges that many

homeless female veterans have suffered sexual trauma and abusive relationships 

and may make unhealthy choices about future relationships. As a result, in order 

to ensure a safe and therapeutic transitional living environment, visitors are 

prohibited at Ange l’s Landing and residents must agree not to share their address 

with people with whom they might visit outside the residence. Furthermore, 

although residents may receive their mail at Angel’s Landing, the address is not 

made public. 
36 Chapter 3: Promising Practices U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Prior to creating its 10-bed Shelter for Homeless Female Veterans, the New 

England Shelter for Homeless Veterans often ended up transferring female 

clients to another women’s shelter within Boston. These women were able to use the 

support services offered at the New England Shelter during the day, but were 

prevented from taking full advantage of the organization’s veteran-specific resources 

because they had to be transported to the other shelters each evening. In order to 

address the needs of female veterans successfully, staff of the New England Shelter 

needed to create a private shelter that would feel safe and secure for women coming 

out of battered relationships and other traumatic backgrounds. The result is the 

current 10-bed facility, which is kept separate from the main men’s shelter. 

Currently, the New England Shelter cannot accommodate women with children, but 

this is an issue that the organization anticipates having to address in the near future. 

Should the organization decide to serve children, steps will again be taken to ensure 

that they could be housed in a safe and private environment.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix I: Sources of Funding 37

Appendix I

Sources of Funding for Projects Serving 

Homeless Veterans

This appendix contains a brief list of various

public and private funding sources to assist

organizations providing services to homeless

veterans. For more comprehensive resource

information, a good starting point is the National 

Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV). The 

NCHV is a coalition of community-based service 

providers in 43 states and Washington, D.C. that 

is dedicated to ending homelessness among veterans. The NCHV web site, 

located at http://www.nchv.org/, contains links to numerous Federal agencies, 

veterans and military organizations, and other nonprofit management resources.

Federal Government

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) at the HUD Office 

of Community Planning and Development (CPD) administers four homeless 

assistance programs – the Supportive Housing Program (SHP); Shelter Plus Care 

(S+C); Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program; and Emergency Shelter Grants 

(ESG) Program. While the ESG program is formula -funded annually, HUD 

awards SHP, S+C, and SRO program funds as annual competitive grants. The 

competition is announced each year in the Continuum of Care Notice of Funding 

Availability in the Federal Register.

Funding Process – After HUD publishes a Notice of Funding Availability 

(NOFA) for Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance, applicants submit specific 

information about a proposed project, along with their Continuum of Care

application. Each application must include a certification that the project is 

consistent with the Consolidated Plan of the jurisdiction where each proposed 

project is found. The application packet for Continuum of Care programs is 

available online or by calling Community Connections (1-800-998-9999) for the 

Homeless Assistance Program Application Package. 
38 Appendix I: Sources of Funding U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

As outlined below, SNAPS homeless program funds support a wide range of 

activities, including operating costs, the provision of supportive services, and 

emergency, transitional, and permanent housing.

The Supportive Housing Program (SHP)

Supportive Housing Program (SHP) grants may be used to fund one or more of 

the following activities: acquisition or rehabilitation of a building to be used as 

supportive housing or to provide supportive services; new construction of a 

supportive housing facility; leasing a building to be used for supportive housing 

or services; the provision of new or increased supportive services; costs

associated with the day-to-day operation of a new supportive housing project or 

the expanded portion of an existing project; and administrative costs. Eligible 

applicants for SHP funds include States, local governments, other government 

agencies (such as public housing agencies), private nonprofit organizations, and 

community mental health associations that are public nonprofit organizations. 

Shelter Plus Care (S+C) Program

Shelter Plus Care (S+C) program grants may be used for the provision of rental 

assistance payments that, when combined with social services, provides

supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities and their families. 

Shelter Plus Care provides funds for four types of rental assistance: (1) TenantBased Rental Assistance (contracted directly with the low-income tenant); (2) 

Project-Based Rental Assistance (contracted with a building owner); (3) SponsorBased Rental Assistance (contracted with a nonprofit organization); and (4)

SRO-based Rental Assistance (Single -room occupancy contracted with a public 

housing authority). States, local governments, and public housing agencies may 

apply for Shelter Plus Care grants. 

Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program

The Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program provides Section 8 rental assistance 

for moderate rehabilitation of buildings with SRO units-single-room dwellings, 

designed for the use of an individual, that often do not contain food preparation or 

sanitary facilities. A public housing authority makes Section 8 rental assistance 

payments to the landlords on behalf of homeless individuals who rent the

rehabilitated units. Rental assistance for SRO units is provided for a period of 10 

years, and includes some of the rehabilitation as well as the other costs of owning 

and maintaining the property. Public housing agencies and private nonprofit

organizations may apply for SRO program funds. However, nonprofit organizations 

must subcontract with public housing agencies to administer the rental assistance. 

Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program

The Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program may be used to fund one or more of 

the following activities: the renovation/rehabilitation/conversion of buildings for use 

as emergency shelters; shelter operating expenses such as rent, repairs, security, fuel, 

equipment, insurance, utilities, food and furnishings; essential services such as those 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix I: Sources of Funding 39

concerned with employment, health, and education of program participants; activities 

designed to prevent the incidence of homelessness; and administrative costs. ESG 

provides funds to States, territories, and qualified cities and counties. States and 

territories that receive ESG must distribute the funds to local governments or private 

nonprofit organizations. Local governments may administer the entire grant

themselves or distribute the funds to private nonprofit organizations. 

For more information on HUD’s homeless programs, contact:

Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs

Community Planning and Development

Department of Housing and Urban Development

451 7th Street, SW

Washington, DC 20410

(202) 708-0614 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program

This program is offered annually (as funding permits) by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs to fund 

community agencies providing services to homeless veterans. Only programs 

with supportive housing (up to 24 months) or service centers (offering services 

such as case management, education, crisis intervention, counseling, etc.) are

eligible for these funds. The program has two levels of funding: 

Grants: Limit is 65 percent of the costs of constructing, expanding, 

remodeling, or altering buildings and acquiring facilities for use as

service centers, transitional housing or other facilities for homeless vets. 

Recipients must fund the matching 35 percent share. Grants may not be 

used for operational costs, including salaries.

Per Diem: Priority in awarding the Per Diem funds goes to the recipients 

of Grants. Non-Grant programs may qualify if: (1) at least 75 percent of 

those receiving supportive services are veterans, and (2) they provide 

supportive housing or a homeless service center. Per Diem funding may 

be used for operational costs, including salaries.

For more information, contact:

VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program

Mental Health Strategic Healthcare Group (116E)

VAHQ

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

Toll Free: (877) 332-0334

http://www.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=3
40 Appendix I: Sources of Funding U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Homeless Chronically Mentally Ill (HCMI) Veterans Program

VA's Homeless Chronically Mentally Ill (HCMI) Veterans Program provides 

extensive outreach, physical and psychiatric health exams, treatment, referrals, 

and ongoing case management to homeless veterans with mental health problems 

(including substance abuse). As appropriate, the HCMI Program places homeless 

veterans needing longer-term treatment into community-based facilities. 

Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residence (CWT/TR) Program

In VA's Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residence (CWT/TR)

Program, disadvantaged, at-risk, and homeless veterans live in CWT/TR

community-based supervised group homes while working for pay in VA's

Compensated Work Therapy Program (also known as Veterans Industries). VA 

contracts with private industry and the public sector for work done by these 

veterans, who learn new job skills, relearn successful work habits, and regain a 

sense of self-worth. 

The Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (DCHV) Program

This program provides biopsychosocial treatment and rehabilitation to

approximately 5,000 homeless veterans with health problems each year. The 

domiciliaries conduct outreach and referral; vocational counseling and

rehabilitation; and post-discharge community support. 

For information on the HCMI, CWT/TR, and DCHV Programs, please contact:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Homeless Veterans Program Office

810 Vermont Avenue (075D)

Washington, DC 20420 

(202) 273-5764

http://www.va.gov/homeless/

Assistance to annual Stand Down events

Stand Down events are designed to bring together a variety of Veterans service 

organizations; city, county, state and community service organizations; homeless 

coalitions; and VA facilities (VA medical centers, Vet Centers, regional offices) 

to provide outreach to homeless veterans. Stand Downs provide a gateway to VA 

and community services that includes assessment and screening, crisis services, 

counseling, referral and placement. Further information on VA assistance at 

local Stand Down events can be obtained through local and regional Department 

of Veterans Affairs offices.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix I: Sources of Funding 41

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

The DOL agency responsible for assisting veterans (including homeless veterans) 

and transitioning military personnel with employment and training needs is the 

Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS). For more information on 

VETS, visit their web site at http://www.dol.gov/dol/vets/.

Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project (HVRP)

HVRP funds are authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance 

Act, and administered by the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service

(VETS) through a competitive process. These funds provide for employment and 

training services and support services directly or through linkages with other 

service providers to assist homeless veterans to re-enter the workforce. In April 

2000, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded 43 HVRP grants totaling more than 

$8.2 million to fund employment and training programs for homeless veterans. 

For more information about the competitive grant application for HVRP, please 

visit http://www.dol.gov/dol/vets/public/grants/main.htm.

Disabled Veterans Outreach Program 

VETS also provides non-competitive funding to designated State Employment 

Security Agencies for Disabled Veterans Outreach Program staff. One of the 

target groups for applicant services is the homeless veteran population. DVOPs 

provide case management and special employment assistance to veterans with 

barriers to employment. For more information about this program, please visit 

the DOL/VETS web site at http://www.dol.gov/dol/vets/welcome.html.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) Program

The PATH Program is a formula grant program that funds the 50 states, District 

of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. Territories to support service delivery to 

individuals with serious mental illnesses, as well as individuals with co-occurring 

substance use disorders, who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. 

In FY 2001, the PATH program distributed nearly $37 million through formula 

grants. The formula is based on the urban population in the jurisdiction compared to 

the total U.S. urban population, with minimum grants of $300,000 per year to each 

state. The state grants are distributed among over 350 provider organizations

nationally. Typically, individual organizations use PATH funds to fund an outreach

worker or other staff position. The PATH program is administered by the Center for 

Mental Health Services, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration (SAMHSA), one of eight Public Health Service agencies 

within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the only program 
42 Appendix I: Sources of Funding U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

for homeless persons with mental illness funded directly by the HHS. For more 

information, please visit the web site at: 

http://www.prainc.com/nrc/path/index.shtml.

Healthcare for the Homeless 

The Healthcare for the Homeless Program (HCH), first authorized under the 

Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to delivering care to homeless persons, combining

aggressive outreach with integrated systems of primary care, mental health and 

substance abuse services, case management, and client advocacy. Emphasis is 

placed on coordinating efforts with other community health providers and social 

service agencies.

HCH’s FY 2001 budget is $100 million. In 2000, HCH awarded grants to 135 

community-based organizations in urban and rural areas, including community 

and migrant health centers, local health departments, hospitals, and community 

coalitions. The average grant was approximately $450,000. HCH grantees work 

with over 300 subcontractors to expand their service networks. HCH grantees 

must be bale to provide case management, outreach, substance abuse services, 

and the full range of primary care. They must also provide mental health 

treatment either on site or through referral.

HCH is administered by Bureau of Primary Health Care, a component of the Health 

Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), one of eight Public Health Service 

agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

For more information, please visit the web site at http://bphc.hrsa.gov/.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Emergency Food and Shelter Program 

FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program helps meet the needs of hungry 

and homeless people throughout the United States and its territories by allocating 

funds for the provision of food and shelter. These funds are disbursed to nonprofit and local government agencies to supplement the assistance they are

already providing.

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program is governed by a national board 

composed of representatives of six nonprofit agencies, and chaired by a

representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The 

National Board awards funds to jurisdictions (counties and major cities) based 

upon a formula; in addition, a small portion of the overall award is allocated by 

formula to state set-aside committees, who then allocate funds to jurisdictions 

based upon the criteria they feel is most appropriate. 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix I: Sources of Funding 43

Once an award is made by either the National Board or a state set-aside 

committee, local boards institute an application and selection process to

determine which agencies are to receive funds. The application process is 

advertised in local newspapers with wide distribution, and those agencies

selected by the local board are paid directly by the National Board. 

For a list of local board contacts, please visit the Emergency Food and Shelter 

Program web site at http://www.efsp.unitedway.org/index.cfm. 

For more information on this program, please contact: 

Carolyn Coleman

Chief, Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Federal Emergency Management Agency

(202) 646-3107

Carolyn.Coleman@FEMA.gov

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Veterans Business

Development

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers a wide variety of services to 

veterans directly and through resource partners in well over one thousand

locations across the United States. Any program providing assistance to veterans 

or service-disabled veterans can contact their nearest SBA District Office and 

speak with the Veterans Affairs Officer for assistance.

For more information, please contact: 

U.S. Small Business Administration

Office of Veterans Business Development

409 3rd Street SW

Washington, DC 20416

(202) 205-6773

State and Local Government

HUD’s Veteran Resource Center (HUDVET) publishes a directory that includes 

a state-by-state listing of relevant Federal and state agencies, veteran service 

organizations, and advocacy groups, along with their contact information. 

Examples of state organizations cited in the Directory include state job service 

agencies, state veterans affairs offices, state veterans homes, state contacts for 

homeless issues, and state committees on employment of people with disabilities. 

The HUDVET Directory is available on the following web site: 

http://www.hud.gov/hudvet/vetres.html. Further information may be obtained by 

calling HUD’s Veteran Resource Center at (800) 998-9999.
44 Appendix I: Sources of Funding U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

In addition, many projects interviewed in the course of developing this brochure 

have had success in developing partnerships with or securing resources from the 

following state and local government agencies:

• State Department of Labor

• State Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP)

• State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

• State Department of Housing

• State/Local Department of Health

• State/Local Department of Mental Health

• City/County Veterans Agency

• Department of Corrections

• Local Housing Authority

• Local Homeless Services Department

Veterans Service Organizations

Numerous Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) throughout the United States 

provide a range of services to veterans and their families, as well as financial 

support to some of the agencies and organizations serving homeless veterans. 

These organizations are often listed under “Veterans and Military Organizations” 

in the local phone book.

The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains an on-line Directory of Veterans 

Service Organizations. This up-to-date, database driven web site allows users to 

perform searches and view VSO information in a variety of ways. The database 

includes a notation marking “chartered organizations” – i.e., those that are

chartered by Congress and/or recognized by VA for claim representation. The 

Directory is located at http://www.va.gov/vso/.

Some of the projects interviewed had developed relationships with Veterans 

Service Organizations and Auxiliary Organizations serving homeless veterans, 

such as:

• The American Legion (http://www.legion.org/)

• American Veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam (AMVETS) 

(http://www.amvets.org/)

• Disabled American Veterans (http://www.dav.org/main.html)

• Military Order of the Purple Heart (http://www.purpleheart.org/)

• Non Commissioned Officers Association (http://www.ncoausa.org/)

• Paralyzed Veterans of America (http://www.pva.org/)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix I: Sources of Funding 45

• Veterans of Foreign Wars (http://www.vfw.org)

• Vietnam Veterans of America (http://www.vva.org/)

• The Retirement Officer’s Association

Private Foundations and Other Sources

Private foundations are also a key source of funding for many organizations 

serving homeless veterans. Foundation grants may support an organization’s 

administrative, operations, or program costs of serving homeless veterans. 

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ web site provides several useful 

links to other web sites and organizations that provide assistance in identifying 

grant sources and in grant writing. For example, The Grantsmanship Center 

(http://www.tgci.com/) offers grant writing workshops and low cost publications 

to nonprofit organizations and government agencies. The Grantsmanship

Center’s web site also allows users to search for grant sources, including Federal, 

state, and community foundations, by state.

Some of the projects interviewed for this brochure generated private funding through 

participation in annual United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)

fundraising efforts nationwide. In addition, many organizations rely on a number of 

local nonprofits and foundations to help carry out their mission. In the interviews, 

projects cited numerous examples of private funding sources, including: 

• Salvation Army International

• Catholic Charities 

• Dress for Success

• Jewish Vocational Services

• Jewish Community Foundation

• Weingart Foundation

• State Endowments

• St. Vincent de Paul

• San Diego Foundation 

• Levi Strauss Foundation

• YM/YWCA
46 Appendix I: Sources of Funding U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix II: Resources and Contacts 47

Appendix II

Other Resources and Contacts

This appendix provides information on other resources and organizations that 

may be of assistance to homeless and veterans’ advocates, as well as a list of the 

organizations and projects interviewed in the development of this brochure.

HUD Publications

HUDVET Directory. From HUD’s Veteran Resource Center, this directory

provides contact information for HUD and other Federal resources for veterans, nonFederal national organizations, and a comprehensive state-by-state listing of relevant 

state agencies, veteran service organizations, and advocacy groups. The HUDVET 

Directory may be accessed on-line at http://www.hud.gov/hudvet/vetres.html. This 

information may also be obtained from HUD’s Veteran Resource Center at (800) 

998-9999.

Other Useful Resources

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

333 1⁄2 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20003-1148

Phone: (202) 546-1969 

Fax: (202) 546-2063 

Toll Free: 800 VET-HELP

http://www.nchv.org/

National Alliance to End Homelessness

1518 K Street NW, Suite 206

Washington, DC 20005 

Phone: (202) 638-1526

http://www.naeh.org/

National Coalition for the Homeless

1012 Fourteenth Street, NW, #600 

Washington, DC 20005-3410

Phone: (202) 737-6444

Fax: (202) 737-6445

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
48 Appendix II: Resources and Contacts U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Inc.

HCH Clinicians' Network

P.O. Box 60427

Nashville, TN 37206-0427

Phone: (615) 226-2292

Fax: (615) 226-1656

http://www.nhchc.org/

Organizations and Projects Contacted

American GI Forum National Veterans Outreach Program

San Antonio, Texas

Contact: Mac Rattan, Vice President

(210) 223-4088

http://www.va.gov/vso/agif.htm

Angel’s Landing

Women Veterans Network, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System

Nashville, Tennessee

Contact: Mary Ann Woodward-Smith, Women Veterans Program Manager

(615) 327-4751

Catholic Social Services of Lackawanna County

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Contact: Steve Nocilla , Executive Director

(570) 207-2287

Center for Veterans Issues, Ltd.

Veterans Opportunity Integration Development

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Contact: Helen King, Grants Manager

(414) 342-4284

http://www.execpc.com/

Emergency Shelter Inc.

Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing Program

Richmond, Virginia

Contact: Janice Fatzinger, Executive Director

(804) 358-7747

http://www.esirichmond.org

Healthcare for Homeless Veterans

VA Medical Center, Seattle Division (MS116)

Seattle, WA 

Contact: Alan F. Castle, MSW, Program Coordinator

(206) 764-2080
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix II: Resources and Contacts 49

The Home of the Brave, Inc.

Emergency Shelter/Transitional Housing

Milford, Delaware

Contact: Rich Pokorney, Director

(302) 424-1681

The Inner Voice Inc.

Vet House

Chicago, Illinois

Brady Harden, Director

(312) 666-8110

Interlink Counseling Services, Inc.

Residential Treatment and Transitional Housing Programs

Louisville, Kentucky

Contact: H. Wayne Creighton, President/CEO

(502) 964-7147

http://www.interlinkcounselingservices.org

Joseph House Inc.

Joseph House, Moses House, Landing Zone

Cincinnati, Ohio

Contact: Bill Mallone, Director

(513) 241-2965

Los Angeles Family Housing Corporation

MOVE and VITAL Programs

Los Angeles, California

Contact: Cindy Aranda

(818) 982-4091

http://www.lafamilyhousing.org

Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training, Inc. (MCVET)

Baltimore, Maryland

Contact: Col. Charles Williams (Ret.), Executive Director

(410) 576-9626

http://mcvet.org/

Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans

Veterans Outreach North

Duluth, Minnesota

Contact: Durban Keeney, Program Manager

(218) 722-8763

http://www.citilink.com
50 Appendix II: Resources and Contacts U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

New Directions, Inc.

New Directions Program

Los Angeles, California

Contact: Toni Reinis, Executive Director

(310) 914-4045

http://www.newdirectionsinc.org/

New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans

Boston, Massachusetts

Contact: Tom Lions, Executive Director

(617) 248-9400

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/6186/index_nn.htm

Rehabilitation Services & Veterans Programs (RS&VP)

Transitional Living Center for Veterans

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Contact: Kendra Hobbes, Director of Operations

(505) 255-8440

The Salvation Army

The William Booth Center

Seattle, Washington

Contact: Mjr. David C. Clitheroe, Director

(206) 281-4600

Seattle Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program

VVLP Transitional Housing Program

Seattle, Washington

Contact: Sherwood Dickie, VVLP Board Housing Coordinator

(206) 467-0714

South Baltimore Homeless Shelter, Inc.

South Baltimore Station

Baltimore, Maryland

Tim Williams, Executive Director, SBHS

(410) 752-5917

Swords to Plowshares

Veterans Academy of the Presidio

San Francisco, California

Contact: Carl Skinner, Executive Director, Veterans Academy

(415) 252-4788

http://www.swords-to-plowshares.org/

Town House Campus

Transitional Housing, Drop-in Center, Technical/Vocational School

Fresno, California

Contact: Hank Hendricks, Director

(559) 268-4321
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appendix II: Resources and Contacts 51

U.S. Vets, Los Angeles

Veterans in Progress Program

Inglewood, California

Contact: Nicole Ward, Program Director

(310) 348-7600

http://www.usvetinc.org

Vancouver Housing Authority

Central Park Place

Vancouver, Washington

Contact: Sam Galbreath, Consultant

(503) 244-3435

Veterans Hospice Homestead

Veterans Hospice Homestead, The Hero Homestead, and Mobile Medical Unit

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Contact: Leslie Lightfoot, Director

(978) 342-5714

http://www.vethospice.com

VETSPACE, Inc.

Transitional Housing

Gainesville, Florida

Contact: Robert Murphy, Grants Manager/Case Manager

(352) 955-2245

http://www.VETSPACE.com

Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program of Western PA

Housing Assistance for Veterans Program

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Contact: Rob Dillard, Social Service Coordinator

(412) 281-8100

Vietnam Veterans of San Diego

Veterans Rehabilitation Center

San Diego, California

Contact: David Siegler, CFO or Al Pavich, CEO

(619) 497-0142

http://www.vvsd.net

Volunteers of America, Florida 

Veterans Mobile Service Center

Tampa, Florida

Contact: Ed Quill, Program Coordinator

(813) 282-1525

http://www.voa-fla.org
52 Appendix II: Resources and Contacts U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Endnote References 53

Endnote References

 

1

 Unless otherwise noted, statistics are drawn from “Homelessness: Programs and the 

People They Serve, Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance

Providers and Clients, Technical Report,” Martha R. Burt, et. al., September 1999, 

Chapter 11. This study, prepared for the Interagency Council on the Homeless, is 

based on the 1996 National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients. 

2 Rosenheck, Robert, et al., “Homeless Veterans,” in Homelessness in America, ed. 

Jim Baumhol, Phoenix, 1996, 105.

3

 Department of Veterans Affairs, Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, 1998 

Report (www.va.gov/womenvet).