VA Leadership Praises Pappas's Preventing Homelessness for Veteran Families Act

Press Release

Today, a representative from the Department of Veterans' Affairs praised Congressman Chris Pappas's (NH-01) Preventing Homelessness for Veteran Families Act, which would reauthorize the VA's Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) program for FY23 and FY24, during a legislative hearing. The SSVF program makes grants to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to rapidly re-house veteran families and prevent homelessness for those at risk. The legislation also funds a nationwide expansion of the VA's Shallow Subsidy program, which provides rental subsidies for very low-income veterans to prevent them from falling into homelessness.

Congressman Pappas: "I recently introduced the Preventing Homelessness for Veteran Families Act, which reauthorizes and increases funding for the VA Supportive Services for Veterans Families, or SSVF, program… I'm wondering, Ms. Diaz, if you can discuss any feedback or findings VA has received related to the effectiveness of Shallow Subsidy in particular and its success at preventing veteran homelessness?"

Monica Diaz, Executive Director, Homeless Programs, VHA: "First of all, I want to say that we support the bill. That's the first thing I want to say. It's a great bill. We thank you for putting this bill forward… I would like to reinforce one piece of what you mentioned, which is what SSVF is. And SSVF is one of our core programs, it provides services not only for the veterans but for family, the dependents. It's one of our programs with great success for permanent housing placement. I'll repeat this again: no less than 80% of permanent housing placement which the core more and at the soul of ending veteran homelessness. So not only for the Shallow Subsidy but for everything that SSVF represents I think this is an outstanding bill and we certainly support it."

Congressman Pappas: "Thank you for your support and those reflections about the Shallow Subsidy and SSVF. And we're going to continue to push this legislation, and continue to build some strong support in this committee and across the Congress for that."

The Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program is the the biggest and most effective homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program administered by VA and the first homeless program designed to serve veterans with families.

Pappas's legislation also drew praise last week from leadership at Harbor Care, an organization in Nashua, New Hampshire that runs the Veterans FIRST program to help veterans and their families facing homelessness access affordable housing.

Background:

In October 2021, Pappas introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to expand the Department of Labor (DOL) Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) to all 50 states and U.S. territories.

In April 2021, Pappas also introduced the Affordable Housing for Homeless Veterans Act to increase the number of affordable housing options to help reduce the recent uptick in veteran homelessness. The Affordable Housing for Homeless Veterans Act passed the House in May 2021.

Source