Did you know that another city Philadelphia hits milestone in ending vet homelessness?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 08:53:50 -0500

Did you know that another city Philadelphia hits milestone in ending vet homelessness?

RP Members it looks like this challenge across American Cities is taking on a life of its own. Now we have Philadelphia, Houston, Mobile, Syracuse, Las Vegas, and New Orleans — as well as the entire state of Virginia.

The results have been dramatic: Since 2010, veteran homelessness has decreased by 36 percent, and we’ve housed nearly 230,000 veterans and their family members through government housing vouchers and homelessness programs.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thinktank/362701621.html

We all know that the vast majority of America’s veterans return home and go on to find good jobs, build strong families, and keep on serving our country in their workplaces, congregations, and communities. But we also know that today, in cities and towns across this nation, there are men and women who wore America’s uniform in wars as far back as Vietnam and Korea — and as recent as Iraq and Afghanistan — but don’t have a roof over their heads.

For too many years, the conventional wisdom has been that veterans’ homelessness is an impossible problem — too big and entrenched to ever really solve.

We disagree stated: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, as do our husbands. That’s why, in 2014, we launched the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, and since then, more than 800 city and county officials have committed to ending veteran homelessness in their communities. Here in Philadelphia, officials and advocates have worked for months to track down every homeless veteran in this city, get to know each of them by name, and collaborate with landlords to quickly find permanent housing for them. And today, Philadelphia has fulfilled its commitment, proudly announcing that this city has ended veteran homelessness and can quickly provide permanent housing for any veteran who becomes homeless in the future.

MAJ Jim Guthrie CPT Private RallyPoint Member MSG Kevin Burrill Sgt Mike Williams SFC Private RallyPoint Member SSgt Private RallyPoint Member TSgt Gil Mendez SGM David Simpson 1SG David Eastabrooks Jr CPT Private RallyPoint Member SSgt Private RallyPoint Member SPC Todd Ehringer LT Private RallyPoint Member SFC Juan Wilkerson, MIT,BIT LTC Donald Lee Hackle SSG Robert Bramlett PFC Michael Robert Lawrence LCDR Anthony Montague ] LTC Private RallyPoint Member

Phila. milestone in ending vet homelessness

For too many years, the conventional wisdom has been that veterans' homelessness is an impossible problem to solve. We disagree - as do our husbands.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Dec 17 at 2015 9:01 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 09:01:17 -0500

That is good news COL Mikel J. Burroughs that my birth city Philadelphia hits milestone in ending vet homelessness.
I hope that these are serious efforts to develop programs to reduce homelessness among veterans and their families. I truly hope that the funding for these programs is primarily from donations of individuals, businesses, churches, synagogues and other non-profits with minimal tax expenditures.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Dec 17 at 2015 9:57 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 09:57:36 -0500

I love seeing these programs.

It hearkens back to our previous discussions about this not being a "resource" issue but a "logistical" issue. Eventually we won't have to Caveat it with Veteran Homelessness, and it will just be Homelessness we have ended.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Dec 17 at 2015 10:07 AM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 10:07:07 -0500

Good News!

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Dec 17 at 2015 10:28 AM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 10:28:01 -0500

It just takes progressively thinking leaders and NGO's...

Response by SGM Ray Whitaker made Dec 17 at 2015 7:09 PM

SGM Ray Whitaker — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 19:09:55 -0500

This is great news!

Response by Pamela Sarikianos made Dec 18 at 2015 5:02 PM

Pamela Sarikianos — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 17:02:21 -0500

Yay!

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Dec 18 at 2015 5:44 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 17:44:49 -0500

Great News. I hope there is some Program to help here in KC. I am seeing fewer Homeless Vets on the Streets but I still see them. We got a long way to go.

Response by 1SG James Lampe made Mar 8 at 2016 8:34 AM

1SG James Lampe — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 08:34:48 -0500

Great news! All the help that can come together for Veterans is well deserved and definitely earned. Another city is Anchorage, Alaska. Along with the Red Cross, who attends to countless Veteran needs, they help homeless Vets by linking them up with HUD to get proper housing. Now that is a great example of agencies working together to help Vets, as I'm sure the other cities mentioned are doing as well.