Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), I thank you for the opportunity to present our views here today. We have learned a great deal concerning what is working to reconnect homeless veterans, and what is not and look forward to sharing these with the committee. On any given night there are the equivalent of 17 infantry divisions on the streets of this great nation with no place to call home. That is approximately 275,000 men and women who have worn this country’s uniforms, been trained at great expense in many of the most advanced technical skills, stood guard over all that we hold sacred and dear, and in some cases, incurred physical and psychological injuries.

We have all heard the stories of their descent into homelessness. In many cases, the reasons could befall any of us, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, prolonged medical disability and a variety of other triggering events. Some have problems associated with their military experience, the lack of transferable skills to the civilian labor market, PTSD, the difficulty of transitioning from military to civilian life.

Fortunately there are organizations dedicated to helping veterans break the cycle of homelessness and hopelessness. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) is a coalition of community based service providers in 43 states and the District of Columbia dedicated to ending homelessness among veterans.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), established by seven homeless veteran service providers in 1990 to educate America’s people about the extraordinarily high percentage of veterans among the homeless.

These seven providers, all former military men, were concerned that people did not understand the unique reasons why veterans become homeless and the fact that these veterans, men and women who defended America’s freedom, were being dramatically under served in a time of personal crisis. In the years since its founding, NCHV’s membership has grown to 244 organizations in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

The current mission of NCHV is to champion the quality of life for homeless veterans by shaping public policy, educating the public, and building the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of homeless veterans.

The majority of NCHV’s members provide front line housing and supportive services to homeless veterans and their families. Services fall within the full continuum of care system including street and rural area outreach, drop-in centers, soup kitchens, benefits and legal counseling, emergency shelters, residential substance abuse treatment, transitional supportive housing, job development, placement and retention services, permanent housing, and a plethora of other supportive services.

To prepare for this hearing NCHV sent letters to all its members requesting information on the federal grant programs and how effective the members perceived them to be. We asked for specific enhancements they would like to see and also what worked well in the current process. You will see their comments throughout this testimony in quotes and italics.

At NCHV we are conducting an in-depth survey of our member organizations that will be completed in September. It will capture the demographics of their client base and the resources used to serve these veterans. We plan to release this information in the fall to give a clearer picture how community based organizations are providing services to homeless veterans throughout the nation.

How many homeless veterans are there?

In May 1994, NCHV released "Report To the Nation" providing a reasonable estimate of homeless veterans by state and major geographical locations within the state. We estimated the total homeless veteran population to be 271,750. Eight states accounted for 47% of the homeless veteran population, California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. No other national estimate has been conducted since that time.

NCHV would like to see a requirement that all organizations that federal homeless assistance funding be required to collect minimal data on the veteran status of the clients they serve. This would enable some trend analysis to be developed that could result in more targeted resource allocation. Senator John McCain has introduced S312 that would require that the grantee identify veterans in all federally funded emergency shelter programs and connect the veterans with Department of Veterans Affairs for counseling on veteran benefits. A similar bill should be introduced in the House.

The myth

The DVA estimates there are at least 275,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night of the year, with more than double that number homeless at some point during the year (i.e., more that 500,000 veterans homeless at some point during the year). The highest estimate is that DVA has some contact with about 38,000 homeless veterans during the course of the year. For veterans one of the biggest myths is that the Department of Veterans Affairs takes care of all veterans for all things. Community groups whether they realize it or not are serving veterans that the DVA is not able to.

The DVA myth gets enhanced because the DVA does a wonderful public relations job about how many programs they have to serve homeless veterans. What gets left out of the message is the number they don’t serve and how much communities have to make up the difference. Although the DVA has increased their partnerships with community-based organizations, most communities still believe that the DVA will take care of every veteran in need.

NCHV believes that many members of Congress believe this also. The introduction of HR566 with 84 cosponsors is a case in point. This bill would require the DVA to hold a Stand Down event in every state to address the needs of homeless veterans in that state. NCHV is opposed to this legislation since it assumes the DVA should be the lead agency in an activity that began in 1988 in San Diego as a grassroots activity from veterans themselves to address the needs of the homeless veteran. Stand Down type events have now grown annually to over 100 throughout the nation based on the needs of each specific community. Communities (all organizations and advocates, including the DVA) should decide what the outreach activities should be in that community not the DVA as mandated from Congress.

Congress passed PL 105-114 and previous legislation requiring the DVA to annually make an assessment of how homeless veterans’ needs were being met in every VA Medical Center catchment area. The intent was to draw a variety of community providers and advocates together to work on meeting the unmet needs within that specific community. This is a wonderful theory and is indeed working in several VAMC catchment areas. However, in many medical centers this activity receives low priority and a prime opportunity to unite a community into addressing the needs of homeless veterans is not realized.

Why are veterans homeless?

There are many individual situations that triggered the entry into homelessness by veterans and others. Most often the reasons are grouped into these main areas:

• Employment
• Lack of jobs paying living wage
• Lack of job skills
• Housing Affordable housing unavailable
• Health issues
• Substance abuse
• Mental health
• Other health issues that prevent employment

Sometimes an underlying factor for veterans is related to their military experience. No matter what the cause or variety of causes, NCHV believes that veterans have earned special preference for their service to our nation.

In "Priority: Home! The Federal Plan to Break the Cycle of Homelessness" (1994) states that: "Veterans are disproportionately represented (among the homeless)" and "approximately 20-45% of the entire adult male homeless population have served their country in the armed services". Yet today veterans continue to receive an unbalanced share of Federal homeless funding. NCHV members, as grassroots homeless providers, have discovered that specific legislation is necessary to make federal entities honor their responsibilities to our nation’s veterans.

Delivery of Services to Homeless Veterans

Most of NCHV member organizations were founded by veterans wanting to help their brother and sister veterans that had befallen a personal tragedy so great that they had become homeless and were not receiving assistance through "the system" in place to help veterans.

Some of our members serve veterans because there are federal grants available for veteran specific programs that will help them expand their operations by serving veterans.

The majority of our membership consist of new organizations formed in the last 10 years that lack the business acumen of larger more traditional homeless providers. Most have very small staffs use a high number of volunteers and are "innovating their way from one operational issue to the next and as a result are learning and growing the hard way."

"If Congress has concerns about the quality of services being provided or is interested in a better system of reporting the outcomes of veteran services, the best way to address these issues is to put a structure in place that assures a common level of training and service expectations that can be tracked by existing reporting procedures." Pennsylvania member.

Health Care

The transmutation of the Veterans Health Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from a traditional hospital facility-based system into a "services oriented" system that is organized into the 22 "Veterans Integrated Services Networks" (VISNs) has produced significant reductions in services needed by many veterans, particularly homeless veterans.

The reductions and curtailment of services that concerns NCHV are the drastic reduction in neuro-psychiatric care. Inpatient care for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been drastically reduced in both duration and availability. Many mental health and substance abuse treatment programs have been eradicated, effectively eliminated, or dramatically truncated. For example in VISN 1 (New England area), an inpatient substance abuse program went from 21 days to an outpatient 5 day, 8 hours per day program.

We request establishment of specific requirements or expectations for each VISN to participate in homeless veteran initiatives. The F ebruary 7, 1996 NEPEC report FY95 End-of-Year Survey of Homeless Veterans in VA Inpatient and Domiciliary Care Programs, found that "23% of all inpatients had been homeless at the time of their admissions". Currently, with the exception that each medical facility have a homeless coordinator, participation of homeless initiatives by individual VAMC is voluntary. This seems to neglect almost one-fourth of the patients within the VHA. Additionally as further noted in the NEPEC report, this population is "more likely to need inpatient admission to get their treatment started".

The continuing process of ostensibly decentralizing decision making authority within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) by transferring authority for some decisions to each of the twenty-two VISNS is having the effect of precluding VHA from even maintaining the capacity to produce any standardized reporting on a National basis. This makes it difficult to obtain a clear picture of the rapid changes in both the amount and the types of medical care and services being provided at facilities across the United States. In a recent report, the Senate correctly pointed out that virtually all systemic quality control/quality assurance programs have been in effect eliminated or debilitated by the kaleidoscopic changes, both at the VISN level and at the DVA Central Office level. NCHV holds that perhaps it would be most efficient and effective if authority as to how best to accomplish the mission(s) of VHA were decentralized. However, the responsibility for setting the mission(s), and holding the VISNs and each DVA facility accountable for how well that mission is being accomplished has been given to the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs and to the Undersecretary for the Veterans' Health Administration. NCHV strongly believes in the military principle of "You may delegate authority; you may NOT delegate responsibility." This principle is certainly applicable to these two officials. The DVA must do a better job of standardizing reporting, and in re-instituting meaningful and effective quality assurance systems.

"We all know that the VA has been forced to do over the past few years and we want to be part of the solution. The substance abuse and PTSD programs have been cut in a time frame or cut completely while being a homeless veteran is just a symptom of a much larger problem that needs to be addressed."

"We are turning to more and more of a citizens Armed Forces while still making it harder and harder for those in arms to qualify as veterans when it comes to receiving aid from the VA. If the VA does not wish to provide the services, I believe the veteran should receive a VA Insurance card which can be used at a facility of their choice." Indiana member.

NCHV has a national toll free telephone line that is used by our members and other providers to receive technical and advocacy information. It has also been publicized in a variety of publications that homeless veterans have access to in Vet Centers and VA Medical Centers. When we receive theses calls from homeless or at risk veterans we do a type of homeless triage to determine what avenues and local referral recommendations to make to each veteran. I am astonished at the number of calls we receive from inside VA Medical Centers where the VA Homeless Coordinator has given our number to the veteran so we can tell them where to go locally. It is obvious there is no commitment at those VA Medical Centers to learn where local resources are that can serve homeless veterans, instead they move them to someone else’s plate.

With significant cuts occurring throughout the nation we urge Congress to examine the strategy of "reinvestment" of the "savings" achieved through the reordering of the way the health care services are delivered. Specifically we would like to see language to ensure that a portion of those resources saved are reinvested to meet unmet needs, not simply reassigned to some other type of care. We believe a required percent reinvestment should be set forth from the program dollars that have been and will be cut in each VISN.

Many community based organizations (CBOs) have a strong record of performance in the delivery of services to veterans in the most vital need, and could do a great deal more inpatient care if the resources were available to meet those unmet needs of veterans. CBOs are a vital link in any continuum of care chain, particularly in an era when there is such concern toward finding the most cost effective means possible for meeting the vital needs of veterans in each community, while preserving the highest standards of quality care. Traditionally, DVA has been reluctant to contract out any delivery of health care services, except with Medical Schools. However, it is clear that the old paradigms do not apply in this rapidly changing environment. No longer can the DVA be all things to all veterans, fulfilling every role. The DVA must do what it does best, providing front line clinical support, and channel resources to the CBOs to do what they can do best.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not traditionally thought of when discussing the needs of homeless veterans. However, two programs in HHS provide services within communities and are treating veterans particularly those who are not eligible to receive DVA services or where the DVA does not have the capacity.

Health Care for the Homeless program assures access to primary health and other related services, is in the FY2000 budget for $945 million. Veterans are not enumerated in any of the subprograms so no specific data is available. PATH, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, is a program targeting homeless individuals with mental illness. It is in the FY2000 budget for $31 million. For the last several years they have reported about 14% of their clients are veterans.

Currently HHS does not have any targeted funding for the homeless with substance abuse problems although unfunded authority exists to do so. With the movement of HUD towards permanent housing and away from providing supportive housing services using McKinney homeless grants, the role of HHS in providing supportive services takes on a new urgency. Currently veterans are not viewed as a client group within HHS and have no significant advocacy relationships with the agency. This relationship takes on significant importance as DVA continues to cut services that need alternative resource streams.

Housing

NCHV members and others express the need for safe, clean, sober housing for veterans as being one of the most pressing needs in their efforts to assist veterans, if indeed not the most pressing need.

NCHV believes that the need for such housing is accelerating as a result of both the shift of the delivery of health care services by the Veterans Administration from inpatient to outpatient models of service delivery, as well as the system wide pressures on VA to "save money."

The outpatient delivery of neuro-psychiatric care, including substance abuse treatment, treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other psychiatric services becomes a real problem for veterans who do not have safe, clean, sober housing.

NCHV has much anecdotal evidence to indicate that the diminishment or virtual elimination of adequate quality substance abuse treatment and other neuro-psychiatric treatment services is a significant problem in virtually every major city. General McAfferty has testified that nationally only 13% of the substance treatment need is met. In some cases the inpatient resources devoted to these purposes have not been shifted to delivery of similar services on an outpatient basis. In other cases the lack of safe, clean, sober housing for veterans while in outpatient treatment or participating in partial hospitalization programs destroys any effectiveness that the treatment might provide toward rehabilitation and recovery of the homeless veterans affected.

For most community based organizations, there are three primary resources available for housing to serve homeless veterans, DVA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program; HUD Homeless Continuum of Care Grants, and government surplus property process.

NCHV believes that the VA Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem Program needs to be put on a "line item" basis, with funding by the Congress at least at the level of $50 Million per year. Currently the amount to be allocated to this grant program is an internal decision within the DVA.

NCHV also requests:

• Removing matching requirements for the per diem portion of grant and just allow payment of $16 per day per veteran for cost of services provided. Current rate of payment is maximum of 50% ($16 per day) and the provider must come up with matching funds.
• Adding approval to allow for in-kind donation value to be counted toward match requirement, if match requirement remains.
• Remove the cap for van purchases. With the increased closure of DVA services and location of other services vans can provide valuable link of services for veterans living in transitional housing.

"I have some major concern in the timing of the NOFAs on the street and the actual time we agencies are awarded the monies. There is a huge lapse of time between receiving the award and actually getting the money. For example: The DVA Homeless Provider’s grant – we were presented the fake check on October 27, 1997, and received the run around for one year and finally received the monies one year and one month later." South Carolina member.

"The competitive awards form DVA and DOL/HVRP both veteran specific programs that make the awards to the awardee directly, have been handled efficiently and effectively. Conversely, the HUD Continuum of Care process is quite different. The local umbrella organization serves as the conduit for the receipt and disbursement of government grant funds. It is through this organization that the homeless providers must submit their applications.

The disadvantage of this process is if homeless providers are not aware of this and if they are not a part of the network, they are essentially excluded form the HUD application process and any chance of participation for HUD funding.

This current process is complicated, confusing, political, and intimidating for those not familiar with the process.

There is an apparent misconception among homeless providers and other funding agencies that the DVA should be the primary source of funding for homeless veteran programs. Those who provide services to homeless veterans know that this is simply not true. Veteran specific programs never have received a fair share and if the funding application process here is similar to the processes in other states, t hen the apparent inequity of funding for veteran specific programs will remain." East Coat member.

When asked about the discrepancy in awarding Continuum of Care funds, HUD’s staff responded that they do not receive many veteran-specific applications, and it is impossible to fund what they do not get.

In 1997 only 107 (3%) of the 3,415 applications received for Continuum of Care funds were submitted by organizations proposing to serve primarily homeless veterans.

During this year’s annual conference, members of NCHV expressed frustration about not being able to access HUD’s Continuum of Care funds. Members cited as the leading reason veteran-specific programs are frequently "blocked" from inclusion in block grants that many community-based groups believe the myths that "homeless veterans have the exact same problems as all other homeless and, anyway, the Department of Veterans Affairs takes care of all veterans."

NCHV member comments about the HUD process:

"Make application process as simple as possible. We maintain a minimum staff capable only of meeting the immediate needs of our residents and do not have the excess to dig through cumbersome governmental regulations." Mississippi member.

"We are not well-known to HUD, the DOL or other federal agencies. What we see year after year is the same old huge nonprofit agencies getting more money. The new guys don’t have a chance, except for programs like the DVA Grant and Per Diem program. Please do everything in your power to get equal consideration for small programs with big hearts, even if that means that the larger programs can’t add to their inventories." New York member.

"HUD gave a very high priority to permanent housing. With so many renewals receiving a high priority, new transitional housing for homeless veterans is often a low priority for the HUD application." California member.

"I am concerned about how the HUD funds are handled for the rural type areas. This is the third year that I have attempted to get funded. What is it that we have to do to see that these funds from HUD are fairly distributed, without having to know someone personally. Please inquire as to why there is so much red tape to get funded and why all of the papermill process." California member.

"Another problem experienced as the director of a small organization is the lack of time to adequately prepare federal grant requests. I have recently submitted under the VA Grant and Per Diem, the HUD SuperNofa grant, local and state grants, all within a couple of months. The timelines for submissions are extremely tight, offering no room for error, very little time for preparation and to still conduct normal daily operations. Most federal grants do not allow for operating or maintenance costs and for very little administration costs. These costs seem to be the biggest part of my budget, and the hardest to gain funds for from any source." Utah member.

"HUD Continuum of Care – what seems to be good intentions doesn’t work for us locally. The process is slow and a burden on small non-profits with having to come up with a 20% cash match for any supportive service projects. If we had this kind of cash match then we wouldn’t need this grant. Furthermore, they will not award in monies for homeless prevention. Leave it to the bureaucracy who would rather spend monies after the fact than giving us small nonprofits the monies to prevent someone from losing everything they own." South Carolina member.

"There is no program in this area to help veterans and this is something that is needed desperately." Florida member.

NCHV strongly recommends that funding be increased to veteran specific programs in a manner that more reflects the local veteran homeless population needs. These needs should be identified through the DVA CHALENG process that involves providers and advocates in the assessment and service implementation plan.

NCHV supports Rep. Metcalf’s bill HR1088 that mandates that 20% of HUD Continuum of Care funds be made available to specifically serve homeless veterans, since HUD has not developed an effective alternative. Under consideration in the Senate is S1076 that contains a provision for a "temporary flexibility" process for disposing of VA property. We have also heard the House is considering a similar proposal. NCHV is concerned about the impact on homeless veteran providers if this provision is passed. Currently surplus property has to be offered to homeless providers before it can be disposed of. Several of our member organizations have acquired property in this manner and are currently running successful programs for homeless and homeless veterans.

With surplus property they obtain, organizations can leverage the property value to get rehabilitation done, obtain grants, loans, in-kind, etc.

VA surplus property is usually located close to VA Medical facilities that allow veterans to get needed support services easily. Additionally since the property is already in use for veterans that can aid in overcoming NIMBY issues.

With the Senate legislation the homeless organizations would only receive 10% of value where now they receive 100%. Finding available and appropriate alternative property could be a problem due to costs and locations.

This legislation sends 10% of the profits of property sales to HUD Homeless programs. HUD under-funds veteran specific programs now (3% of total homeless dollars go to veteran specific programs, while veterans are 35% of homeless population). This means homeless veteran specific organizations would suffer more under this bill.

Alternative scenarios are abundant but must include assurance that homeless veterans would directly receive benefits from the sale of veteran properties.

Employment

Work is the key to helping homeless veterans rejoin American society. As important as quality clinical care, other supportive services, and transitional housing may be, the fact remains that helping veterans get and keep a job is the most essential element in their recovery and reintegration.

The Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) is a job placement program begun in 1989 to provide grants to community-based organizations that employ flexible and innovative approaches to assist homeless, unemployed veterans reenter the workforce. Local programs offer employment and job-readiness services to place these veterans directly into paying jobs. HVRP provides the key element often missing from most homeless programming, job placement.

Through HVRP funds veterans gain access to civilian assistance, ex-military benefits and entitlements, education and training opportunities, legal assistance, whatever is needed to begin the rebuilding process towards employment.

HVRP programs work with veterans who have special needs and are shunned by other programs and services, veterans who have hit the very bottom, including those with long histories of substance abuse, severe PTSD, serious social problems, those who have legal issues, and those who are HIV positive. These veterans require more time consuming, specialized, intensive assessment, referrals, and counseling than is possible in other programs that work with other veterans seeking employment.

The HVRP is virtually the only program that focuses on employment of veterans who are homeless. Since other sources of funding that should be available to our member organizations to fund activities that result in gainful employment are not generally available, HVRP takes on an importance far beyond the very small dollar amounts involved.

The keys to veterans’ success are: finding stable housing or shelter; having a place to go where they feel comfortable and can enhance their self-esteem; and, being allowed the opportunity to pursue and be supported in their efforts for seeking employment. Service providers are committed to helping veterans overcome past failed attempts in employment. When veterans recognize the benefits and are motivated, they can be successful in obtaining employment and become a productive member of the community.

The problem is that the state and local agencies that distribute Federal resources for employment, training, and other vital services feel that "veterans are a Federal problem." Unless veterans are specifically and explicitly "written in" to laws, regulations, and appropriations by the Congress, then veterans will be explicitly "read out" of any program at the state and local level. HVRP is a program that has assumed an importance far beyond the relatively small amounts of funds involved because it is so difficult or in many cases impossible for veterans’ services providers to access other funds that should be available to serve the employment needs of veterans who are homeless. Even though VA and Department of Housing and Urban Development acknowledge that at least 30% of homeless adults are veterans, only 3% of HUD funds pursuant to the McKinney Act go to programs designed to meet the ‘special needs’ of veterans.

In a similar vein, only 7.2% of all participants who completed a program under Title IIA of the Job Training Partnership Act, designed to assist economically disadvantaged adults were reported to be veterans in Program Year 1995 (the most recent reports available). The number of these who received services directed to meeting their "special needs" as veterans, and building on their special strengths as veterans, were virtually negligible. Even more telling, only 1,353 homeless veterans were served by Title IIA in PY 1995, and only 699 homeless veterans were served under Title III in that same period according to the SPIR data base maintained by the United States Department of Labor.

HVRP is an extraordinarily cost efficient program, with a cost per placement of about $1,250 per veteran entering employment for the years 1989-1995. This is less than 25% of the cost of JTPA programs, which do not meet the special needs of homeless veterans, even in the rare instances where homeless veterans can secure such services. In at least some measure this is because HVRP is primarily a placement program and not a lengthy training program.

HVRP is a very inexpensive and extraordinarily cost effective program in comparison to all of the JTPA programs. Due to the very small appropriations for this program, $3 million for the past two years, only twenty-two programs in eleven states have received grants. For FY2000 the President’s budget is only asking for $5 million to be appropriated. The Department of Labor estimates being able to place approximately 3,500 veterans in unsubsidized jobs with this $5 million for about $1430 per placement cost, still significantly lower than most job placement programs.

NCHV supports the recent markup authorization recommendations of the Subcommittee on Benefits of the House Veterans Affairs Committee at $10 million for FY2000; $15 million for FY2001; $20 million for FY2002; $25 million for FY2003; and, $30 million for FY2004. Our further expectation is that the entire Veterans Affairs Committee and House will support this recommendation and follow through with matching appropriations.

Other assistance

Homeless funding also is disbursed through FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program that provides no specific enumeration of the number of homeless veterans served. Assistance typically goes to families, not single males. A few years ago the national board of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program used $75,000 of the $100 million appropriations to provide assistance to Stand Down events being held across the nation for homeless veterans.

Transportation is a critical need for veterans in transition from homelessness for medical and counseling appointments, job search and early employment periods.

"Homeless veterans do not have the mode of transportation to make all the appointments required as an out patient, which are required more and more." Indiana member.

"Once an incidental expenditure, the current reality is that each veteran may consume $200-$300 of transportation support and that diminishes the dollars available for supportive services." Pennsylvania member.

Prevention

An area that is rarely discussed is how to prevent homelessness among veterans. Our coalition spends most of its resources trying to deal with the current disproportionate number of veterans that are now homeless, and prevention issues are deferred.

HR606 is the legislation that deals with the Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance recommendations. The recommendations under the section addressing the TAP, Transition Assistance Program, are supported by NCHV. This strengthened program is critical in providing the first step for servicemembers with a means of controlling their transition to civilian life, which has often lead to homelessness.

Incarcerated veterans most often are released without a transition plan and swell the ranks of homeless and place a burden on providers. In a very small number of prisons both federal and state, pre-release case management is occurring. Prisons are mainly warehousing people for punishment and do not provide rehabilitation programs to develop needed education and other skills to rebuild their lives once released. We would support a plan to provide pre-release preparation for incarcerated veterans.

Mr. Chairman, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) thanks you for the opportunity to present our views on the above matters to you and your distinguished colleagues. We thank you for your leadership in struggling to meet the vital needs of veterans, particularly homeless veterans, in these austere times.

Linda Boone, Executive Director, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans took over the management of this national organization in April 1996. Although she is a native of Oregon, she came to DC after two years in Little Rock, Arkansas as executive director of a statewide association of nonprofits.

Linda’s efforts for veterans’ issues started in 1969 as a volunteer in her local community. In 1990 she became aware of the growing crisis of homeless veterans and began her advocacy for these veterans. In September 1993 Linda completed a year as National President of the one million member American Legion Auxiliary.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans was founded in 1990 by a group of veteran service providers when they became frustrated with the growing numbers of homeless veterans that were coming into their facilities and the lack of resources to adequately provide services.

The organization opened a Washington, DC office in 1993 to raise the homeless veteran issue at a national level to obtain resources to resolve issue. It is a nonprofit 501c3, membership organization. Funding is from donations, grants and membership fees.

The current mission of NCHV is to champion the quality of life for homeless veterans by shaping public policy, educating the public, and building the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of homeless veterans.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans received $36, 016 Federal funding in FY99 (Oct. 1, 1998- Sept. 30, 1999) to provide targeted marketing for the Work Opportunity Tax Credits.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans received $60,000 Federal funding in FY98 (Oct. 1, 1997- Sept. 30, 1998) to provide targeted marketing for the Work Opportunity Tax Credits.

back to top