TAKE ACTION:

Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act Needs Co-sponsors

Please circulate this Action Alert widely

ACTION REQUESTED:  The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans urges service providers and advocates for veterans and persons experiencing homelessness to CALL their U.S. Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (S. 1180).

While we need to reach all U.S. Senators, it is particularly important that organizations and individuals in the following states contact their U.S. Senator serving on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee:  Colorado, Ken Salazar; Georgia, Johnny Isakson; Hawaii, Daniel Akaka, Ranking Member; Idaho, Larry Craig, Chairman; Illinois, Barack Obama; Nevada, John Ensign; North Carolina, Richard Burr; Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter; South Carolina, Lindsey Graham; South Dakota, John Thune; Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison; Vermont, James Jeffords; Washington, Patty Murray; West Virginia, John Rockefeller.

In addition, NCHV members who met with Senate offices during the NCHV annual conference should follow-up to those meetings with this specific co-sponsorship request.

BACKGROUND:  Congress has established a small set of programs to address homelessness among veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several of these programs, including the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program, a transitional housing and supportive services program.  The Department of Labor administers the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), a job placement and supportive services program. 

The GPD program and HVRP are scheduled to sunset in 2006; other VA homeless programs are scheduled to sunset in 2005.  These programs are still very necessary and deserve to be extended.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has introduced the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (S. 1180).  Among its provisions, S. 1180:

• Reauthorizes the GPD program, HVRP, and the Grant Program for Homeless Veterans with Special Needs, the only targeted homeless veteran programs available to grassroots faith- and community-based organizations.
• Fosters the prevention of homelessness among veterans by expanding the eligible population for HVRP to veterans at imminent risk of homelessness and by including separating servicemembers as a target group for VA outreach targeted to veterans at risk of homelessness.
• Calls for VA to study the intersection of military sexual trauma and homelessness and effective service models for addressing trauma among homeless veterans.

We need a healthy list of co-sponsors to S. 1180 in order to give it the necessary momentum to make it through Veterans' Affairs Committee and onto the Senate floor.  

INSTRUCTIONS: 

To determine who your U.S. Senators are and find their phone numbers, go to http://www.senate.gov, search for their web pages, and find the phone numbers for their Washington DC offices.  Or, you may call 202/224-3121 and ask the operator to transfer you to the offices of your U.S. Senators. 

Tell the receptionist in the Senators' offices that you are a constituent and that you are calling about a legislative matter.  Ask to speak to the staff person who handles veterans' affairs policy. 

If the staff person is unavailable, ask to leave a voice mail message for them.

TALKING POINTS:

• I am [name] with [name of organization] located in [name of location].  We provide [describe your range of services] to [indicate number] of homeless veterans annually in [describe your service area].
• I am calling to ask the Senator to co-sponsor the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere (SAVE) Act, Senate Bill 1180, introduced on June 7 by Senator Barack Obama.
• [We currently receive funds through the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.] or [We formerly received funds through the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program and would like to do so again.] or [We plan to apply for funds through the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.]
• Also, [We currently receive funds through the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.] or [We formerly received funds through the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and would like to do so again.] or [We plan to apply for funds through the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.]
• GPD provides competitive grants to community-based, faith-based and public organizations to provide transitional housing and supportive services to homeless veterans.
• HVRP provides competitive grants to community-based, faith-based, and public organizations to offer outreach, job placement and supportive services to homeless veterans.
• [Describe how your organization uses GPD and/or HVRP funds, had used GPD and/or HVRP funds, or would use GPD and/or HVRP funds.  Describe how your project would be less successful or not able to be offered if GPD and HVRP funds were not available to your organization.  Describe how you use GPD and HVRP funds as leverage for other resources.]
• We really need the Senator to co-sponsor S. 1180 in order to build momentum for action on the measure by the Veterans' Affairs Committee.  The committee is holding a hearing on the legislation on June 9. It would be great if the Senator would co-sponsor the legislation right away.
• Please apprise me of the Senator's response to my request, or let me know what additional information you may need about our organization's services to homeless veterans.
• I can be reached at [phone number and e-mail address].
• Thank you for relaying this request to the Senator.

REPORT BACK TO NCHV:  Please e-mail Cheryl Beversdorf at nchv1@nchv.org to report your communications with Senators and their responses to your request.

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