Ending Chronic Veteran Homelessness - Veterans

Department of Veterans' Services


Ending Chronic Veteran Homelessness

Veteran and Military Family Summit
Ending Chronic Veteran Homelessness
ETS Sponsorship Program
Final Honors Program
Military Family Advocate (MFA) Program
Mission: VetCheck
Support for Veteran Service Organizations
VA Claims Unit
VA Work Study
VBLA
VetBizNYC
Veteran Voices Project
Veterans on Campus

Veteran and Military Family Summit

Ending Chronic Veteran Homelessness

ETS Sponsorship Program

Final Honors Program

Military Family Advocate (MFA) Program

Mission: VetCheck

Support for Veteran Service Organizations

VA Claims Unit

VA Work Study

VBLA

VetBizNYC

Veteran Voices Project

Veterans on Campus


Ending Chronic Veteran Homelessness

New York City has reduced veteran homelessness by nearly 90% since 2011. In December 2015, NYC became the largest city in the country to be certified by the federal government for ending chronic veteran homelessness (homelessness for our most vulnerable veterans). New York City is approaching "Functional Zero" — a national standard of housing homeless veterans within 90 days of entering the homeless system.

How We Do it

As a lead agency in New York City's effort to reach and sustain Functional Zero, the NYC Department of Veterans' Services developed a three-step approach to housing formerly homeless veterans:

Veteran Peer Coordinator (VPC) Program

DVS has a team of Veteran Peer Coordinators (VPCs) who provide direct, peer-to-peer assistance to homeless and at-risk veterans in shelters by:

helping to find affordable housing

identifying apartments Veterans are eligible for

providing transportation to and from apartment viewings

ensuring Veterans have rental subsidies

coordinating with interagency and housing partners for fast inspections

House-A-Veteran

DVS increases the supply of housing available to homeless veterans by finding brokers, property owners, and managers who are looking to house homeless veterans.

Interested in housing veterans in your properties? Fill out our special contact form and we'll get back to you right away.

Aftercare Assistance

DVS provides Aftercare Assistance to make sure that formerly homeless veterans stay housed. Services include:

Regular check-in calls

Referrals to community partners if the Veteran seeks additional services

Ensuring veterans have all the necessary information regarding their rent, utilities, etc.

Contact 646-808-5212 for more information on aftercare support. For homelessness prevention assistance veterans should call the DVS main line: 212-416-5250

Additional Support

HUD-VASH Continuum

The Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Continuum program is a partnership between DVS and the New York City Housing Authority that creates paths to permanent housing for disconnected veterans and their families.

In New York City 30-40% of veterans without permanent housing are not eligible for VA vouchers. These disconnected veterans had remained in limbo in municipal and nonprofit facilities – for over a year on average – unable to be connected to resources for housing. Once provided a VASH Continuum voucher and given DVS peer to peer support, these veterans are able to find permanent, affordable housing. This program has been especially successful in assisting female veterans who are disproportionately disconnected to services, and senior veterans who have made up 41% of the applicants to date.

The HUD-VASH Continuum program launched in 2017. Throughout the first year of the program, NYCHA, DVS, and our partners were able to secure housing assistance for over 100 veterans and families who had been disconnected from support services due to ineligibility based on length of time in the military service or their discharge status.