San Diego's VA hopes to house 851 homeless veterans this year. Data show they're moving in the right direction.
San Diego Union-TribuneApr 01, 2024
The local agency recently announced a goal of housing 851 people and ensuring the vast majority — at least 95 percent — stay under a roof.
The
"We fully embrace local initiatives to achieve functional zero Veteran homelessness,"
Four members of
We "must ensure that no vouchers go unused," said
The director soon responded in a letter.
Out of 336 vouchers not fully utilized, 94 had been given to veterans still looking for housing while an additional 32 were awaiting final approval, Pearson wrote. The
One hundred and sixty-seven vouchers remained available, the director said
County officials have wanted the federal agency to send more people their way, and public data do show improvement.
During the second half of 2022 through much of last year, the San Diego VA averaged only about 13 referrals a month.
But starting in August there have regularly been more than 30, according to records from county spokesperson
A contract with the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless increased outreach and the
That included tweaking payment rules to make it easier for veterans to lease "slightly more expensive housing" and allowing applicants without
On average, it took veterans with vouchers 89 days to lock down housing through the county, the director wrote. The wait time was similar in the city of
"There is continued concern about available housing stock that is safe and affordable," Pearson said.
Vouchers can also be issued in the region by Oceanside and the
In an email, a spokesperson for
"Homelessness is a housing issue and we need to incentivize housing that makes it easy for formerly homeless veterans to access the services and support they so often need,"
As of early March, the county was helping more than 700 formerly homeless veterans pay rent, according to McClain. Around 110 had vouchers and were looking for units.
Those currently on the street or at risk of losing a place to stay can reach the
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