VA unveils strategy to end homelessness among veterans

Homeless veterans in Las Vegas, who are working with U.S. Vets to get back on their feet, play dominoes in the shade of a parking garage in September.


VA unveils strategy to end homelessness among veterans
By Megan McCloskey, Stars and Stripes
European edition,Tuesday, November 4, 2009

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said he learned long ago never to speak in absolutes, but on Tuesday he unveiled a bold new strategy to get every homeless veteran off the streets within five years.

“When I say a goal of zero homeless veterans in five years, it sure sounds like an absolute,” Shinseki said at the start of a three-day gathering of service providers fighting homelessness. “But I do that with an understanding that unless we set ambitious targets for ourselves we would not, we all would not be giving this our best efforts. No one who has served this nation as veterans have should be living on the streets.”

There are more than 130,000 homeless veterans, Shinseki said, and without a change to the status quo, the number could increase 10 to 15 percent in the next five years.

The plan is more a call to action, an acknowledgement that the next five years are crucial in turning the tide on veteran homelessness, particularly with the increasing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans showing up on the streets.

The VA is still crafting the details of how to reach the lofty goals, but the plan involves a complete overhaul of the department’s traditional framework, shifting to a focus on prevention and housing instead of on shelter services.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65844

. . . good to hear tho

often, the forgotten

but will still not hold my breath... but I do hope he can.