GREENSBORO – The City of Greensboro is ramping up its fight to
end veteran homelessness with the Homes for Heroes campaign, announced
today as part of a joint media briefing with representatives from
Partners Ending Homelessness. The initiative is part of the Mayor’s
Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness and Zero:2016, programs designed
to end veteran homelessness, as it is known today, in participating
communities by the end of 2015.
Through
the Homes for Heroes campaign, the City is encouraging property owners
and landlords to sign up to offer housing to currently homeless
veterans. Each homeless veteran will receive case management and support
through organizations involved in the effort to end Vet homelessness,
such as the VA and Salvation Army. It is estimated that as many as 86
Guilford County veterans will need housing over the remainder of 2015.
“In
Greensboro alone, we have 47 veterans who are currently homeless (as of
January 2015),” says Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan. “As we prepare to
celebrate our nation’s independence in a few weeks, it’s the perfect
time to honor the men and women who have helped us maintain our freedom.
Some of those folks have fallen on hard times and we owe it to them to
lift them back up and, through this program, help them find housing and
get back on their feet.”
Darryl
Kosciak, executive director of Partners Ending Homelessness, says that
there is work to be done to eradicate veteran homelessness, but that it
is an attainable goal through community partnerships and determination.
“As a community, we want to work toward ensuring that every veteran is
placed in permanent housing,” says Kosciak. “We want to join cities like
New Orleans, Salt Lake City and Phoenix that have reached ‘functional
zero’ by ensuring that there is a quick resolution in place if a veteran
becomes homeless.”
In
January of 2015, Greensboro joined the City of Winston-Salem in signing
on to the Mayors Challenge. Concurrently, Guilford County was accepted
into the national Zero:2016 campaign
(http://cmtysolutions.org/zero2016). Since January, 78 veterans have
been placed into housing, 46 through the Salvation Army Greensboro in
partnership with the Federal Supportive Services for Veterans and
Families (SSVF) grant, five through the VA, and 27 via other avenues to
housing.
Property owners and landlords can sign up at http://www.partnersendinghomelessness.org/action to receive further information and join this effort by listing their properties for homeless veterans and their families. Representatives from Partners Ending Homelessness will contact everyone who signs up.
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