Friday, November 2, 2012

Help for Homeless Veterans

It has been estimated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that over 60,000 American veterans are homeless.  The Veterans Administration has a created a program to help deal with this deplorable situation: the creation of Section 8 vouchers for housing for qualified, homeless veterans so that they can get the housing and case management they need to get and hold onto a place to live.  Many cities in the U.S. get an allocation of vouchers available for veterans in need

But there's a problem.  Homeless veterans often don't have the money for deposits or move-in costs to take advantage of the program. How to deal with this?  Veterans Matter, a group based in northwest Ohio, works with VA officials and funds deposit and move-in costs for veterans in the Toledo and southeast Michigan areas to make that housing a reality, quickly and without a bunch of overhead.  Veterans Matter only runs the local group, but other groups have sprouted up to fund expenses for the homeless veterans in their communities.  If you are a homeless veteran, or know one who could use help, call 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838), the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, for more information.

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