Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Program. (AP file photo)
The Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) recently announced that it has been awarded $781,492, the largest such funding award in the country, in extraordinary administration fees to support its Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Program. The award comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a result of an application submitted last March.
The VASH Program provides rental assistance vouchers combined with case management/clinical services to enable homeless Veterans to lead healthy, productive lives in the community and avoid remaining homeless. The Program is designed to improve each Veteran’s physical and mental health, and to enhance his/her ability to remain stable, housed, and integrated in their local community. The funding award will enable HACoLA to reduce processing time and, ultimately, decrease the time it takes for a Veteran to locate a unit and move out of homelessness.
The award comes on the heels of last month’s achievement where HACoLA reached 100% voucher utilization for VASH.
Over 1,500 formerly homeless Veterans and their families have been housed, which is the direct result of a concerted effort to bring together federal and local resources. Additionally, HACoLA just received an additional VASH allocation for Fiscal Year 2016, in the amount of 236 vouchers. The extraordinary administration fees received will enable HACoLA to increase its leasing success rates and address voucher turnover.
“The funding will help address the growing need within HACoLA to help Veterans navigate through the administrative process and into housing as soon as possible,” stated HACoLA Executive Director Sean Rogan. “We are excited to continue to work toward our goal of ending Veteran homelessness.”
While HACoLA is pleased with its success, it acknowledges that the task of ending Veteran homelessness is not over. The agency continues to advocate at the state and federal level in an effort to bring awareness to the need for additional resources to address this issue.
For information on the County’s housing programs, visit the HACoLA website at www.hacola.org. All media may contact Elisa Vásquez, Public Information Officer, at (626) 586-1762.
