Department of Veterans Affairs Releases 2009 CHALENG Report
Estimates number of homeless vets, evaluates unmet needs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released the 2009 CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) Report, which summarizes the results of an annual survey of local VA staff and community participants. The report estimates that 107,000 veterans were homeless on any given night, based on estimates reported by the CHALENG points of contact.

More than 16,500 people participated in the 2009 CHALENG process – a 41 percent increase from 2008. Sixty-five percent of those participants were homeless and formerly homeless veterans, referred to in the report as “consumers.”According to consumer respondents, eight of the ten most pressing unmet needs are classifiable as family, legal or financial concerns.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans has posted a breakdown of the number of homeless veterans and veteran-specific beds by region, using the latest CHALENG report data, here.

For more information on VA’s Project CHALENG and to read the full 2009 CHALENG Report, click here.

USICH Releases Implementation Update on Federal Strategic Plan
To promote accountability and transparency

Building off the momentum generated by the release of Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) and its 19 member agencies have immediately turned from development to action. USICH is working through all 52 strategies and four signature initiatives laid out in the plan and is in the process of identifying with its partners what is needed for full implementation, including key milestones and deliverables.

The development of the fiscal year 2012 President’s Budget is under way and the implementation of Opening Doors is tied to the process. Member agencies are looking at the plan’s priorities as they make important budget decisions.

To read the implementation update, which continues USICH’s effort to promote accountability and transparency, click here.

For more information on USICH and the Federal Strategic Plan, click here.

NCHV Loses Board Member Dwight Radcliff
President, CEO of U.S. Veterans Initiative

On Saturday, July 31, Dwight Radcliff – newly elected NCHV Board Member and President and CEO of United States Veterans Initiative – died of a heart attack at age 55 at Marina del Rey Hospital, near his home. Radcliff was an Air Force veteran who overcame homelessness to lead a national organization providing housing, job training and health services for veterans in need.

"Most of us have our own special memories of Dwight – one of the kindest, yet strongest, men I’ve ever known," NCHV President and CEO John Driscoll said. "The NCHV staff nominated Dwight for an NCHV Unsung Hero Award in 2006 because of the way he inspired the people around him." Radcliff’s Los Angeles Times obituary can be read here.

DOL Offers $22 Million to Implement Disability Employment Initiative
Will award six to 10 grants

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)'s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) – in coordination with its Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) – has announced the availability of approximately $22 million for cooperative agreements to state Workforce Investment Act administering entities. This funding is being used to implement the Disability Employment Initiative, under which the Department intends to make six to 10 grant awards that are designed to:

1. Improve educational, training, and employment opportunities and outcomes of youth and adults with disabilities who are unemployed, underemployed and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits; and

2. Help these individuals find a path into the middle class through exemplary and model service delivery by the public workforce system.

The application deadline for this funding opportunity is Sept. 8, 2010. For more information, click here.

New Website Features Disability Employment Resources
From the Society for Human Resource Management

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in alliance with DOL/ODEP, has launched a new "Disability Employment Resource Page." The page is geared toward employers and offers resources, articles and information to help recruit, hire and retain people with disabilities. The new resource page also includes video interviews of experts in the field of disability employment.

To view the page, click here.

NAEH Posts 2010 Conference Presentations
Includes sessions on veteran homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) has posted many of the presentations and handouts from its July 2010 National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Veteran-focused sessions include “Preventing and Ending Veteran Homelessness,” which discussed various VA programs and resources available to communities.

To view the presentations, click here.

Funding Opportunities

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation seeks to support regional programs in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. The Foundation supports various human services initiatives under several different grant programs with varying guidelines. For more information on the programs offered, click here.

Koch Industries companies provide financial and in-kind support, time and talent to add value in communities with Koch facilities (Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia). Koch’s philanthropic efforts focus on programs that advance learning and education; protect, conserve and enhance natural resources; improve quality of life; and support human services and at-risk youth. There are no deadlines for applications. For more information, click here.