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Extension
of Remarks
Introduction
of “Heather French Henry
Homeless Veterans Assistance Act”
H.R.
936
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the
Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act.
This important legislation establishes a national goal of ending
homelessness among our nation’s veterans within a decade.
Mr. Speaker, I firmly believe if 40 years ago we as a nation had
the resolve and resources to send men to the moon and return them safely
to earth within a decade, today our great nation can end homelessness
among veterans with adequate resolve and resources within ten years.
The measure I introduced
today for myself, and almost 100 of my colleagues, is named to recognize
and honor Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000.
During her year of service to America, Heather French Henry
committed the full measure of her time, talents and energy to addressing
the needs of homeless veterans. She
was our national conscience, calling on us to do more, to do enough to
help veterans escape the prison of homelessness.
She encouraged homeless veterans to break free from their chains of
homelessness. She seems to be
everywhere at once advocating for our homeless veterans.
Homeless veterans have no better friend and voice.
If we consider how much one young woman accomplished during her
year of service as Miss America on behalf of our nation’s homeless
veterans, there can be no doubt this nation can end homelessness among
veterans within a decade. If
our nation demonstrates the care, compassion, and fidelity to ending
homelessness among veterans as Heather French Henry did during her year of
service as Miss America, a decade from now there will be no homelessness
among veterans.
The end of veteran homelessness and prompt action on the Heather
French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act are a high priority for
many. These goals are
strongly supported, for example, by the National Coalition of Homeless
Veterans and its hundreds of member organizations throughout the nation
who daily provide essential services to homeless veterans.
I am also pleased the Veterans Organizations Homeless Council which
represents many major military and veterans service organizations strongly
supports the legislation I am introducing today.
Homelessness is a complex
problem for which there is no “quick fix”.
Homeless veterans are likely to face more than one serious
challenge. They are more
likely to have serious chronic mental illness, substance use disorders,
significant chronic illnesses or disease, to lack the social networks that
help most of us through our difficulties and to lack job and even basic
living skills. The programs
provided by the Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act
address these problems with comprehensive solutions.
Programs that have
demonstrated effectiveness in assisting homeless veterans should be
expanded. Better coordination
among the services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and those
offered by other federal, state and local agencies is also needed.
Support for private-sector programs serving homeless veterans must
be affirmed. We must also
make full use of leading experts to enrich current services to homeless
veterans and assess program effectiveness and develop needed innovations. A new VA Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans and an
effective federal interagency taskforce on homeless are important parts of
the solution.
Many programs provided or
funded by VA have demonstrated their effectiveness.
Mental health professionals agree, for example, that placement in
the community can work, but only with careful monitoring and support of
vulnerable populations. This
legislation creates incentives for VA to make these services—called
Mental Health Intensive Community Management programs—more widely
available to veterans with serious mental illness.
Supportive, therapeutic
housing is necessary for a veteran’s recovery from substance abuse.
These “safe havens” must be provided and available to help a
veteran in transition from homelessness to a more rewarding life.
Community-based providers and more VA domiciliaries are needed to
help meet the needs for transitional housing.
Comprehensive services for homeless veterans must be more available
in our major metropolitan areas to assure that veterans receive services
in addition to full information about resources available to them.
In our nation’s Capitol veterans have neither a VA domiciliary
nor a comprehensive homeless veterans service program.
Both are clearly needed now.
Community-based
organizations must receive more assistance to achieve the goal of ending
homelessness among veterans. VA’s
Homeless Grant and Per Diem Providers are a critical source of support to
the mission of caring for our nation’s homeless veterans.
Community-based providers use a collaborative approach to funding
and caring for homeless veterans—many of the programs draw from a
complex array of funding streams. The
cost of caring for veterans is often subsidized by the other funding
sources from local, state, and private entities these resourceful
providers receive. It is very
clear that homelessness among veterans is not likely to be addressed
successfully by VA alone. VA
makes a critical contribution, but community-based organizations must be
provided more opportunities to be even more effective.
An increase in the per diem rate received for meeting the basic
daily needs of homeless veterans is needed.
Community-based providers must also be provided the opportunity to
participate in grant programs to address certain veterans with special
needs and to provide therapeutic residences for veterans participating in
compensated work therapy. Community-based providers are on the front line of ending
veteran homelessness and should be encouraged to provide innovative and
effective programs.
VA can and must do more to
establish formal agreements with other agencies in and outside of the
government in order to ensure that various agencies carefully coordinate
services to ensure that veterans at risk of homelessness do not become
homeless. The Departments of
Defense, Labor and VA cooperatively provide a Transitional Assistance
Program (TAP) for servicemembers who are about to be discharged from the
military. This cooperative
program could be a model for veterans who are leaving penal institutions
or hospital settings. VA
should work with a variety of community and other government programs to
ensure a safety net is in place.
Finally, my bill advocates a
small demonstration program to offer transitional assistance to veterans
making the very difficult transition from institutionalization to
independent living. These
veterans must be provided every chance possible to make it on their own.
A one-time, limited grant will provide our veterans a better
opportunity to obtain work and housing and avoid becoming homeless and
living on the nation’s streets.
Mr. Speaker, a member of my
staff recently visited a program in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she was told
that VA staff can “usually” find a bed for a dying homeless veteran
within his or her last week of life.
As a nation, we should be outraged and shamed by this treatment of
men and women who have served our nation in uniform.
Surely we owe our veterans more.
I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting homeless
veterans on their path to recovery and their full integration into
mainstream society to the extent possible.
Join me by supporting the Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans
Assistance Act.
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Rep. Evans's Floor
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