THE LEVIN LETTER: One Veteran Without a Home Is One Too Many
There are currently more than 35,000 homeless veterans in the United States. While this number is less than half of the 76,000 U.S. homeless veterans in 2010, it is still far too high. Roughly 10% of the current homeless veteran population is in California. In Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County, you don’t need to look far to find veterans living in tents and on sidewalks.
It’s simply unacceptable. No veteran should ever be without a home after selflessly serving our nation with dignity.
Just as there is no single cause of veteran homelessness, there is no single solution. However, this shouldn’t stop us from doing everything we can to ensure every veteran has a place to call home.
One of the most effective programs we have in addressing veteran homelessness is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH, program. Under HUD-VASH, veterans who earn below a certain income level qualify for housing vouchers, and veterans can use these vouchers for rental assistance to secure an affordable, stable home.
Unfortunately, some of the veterans most in need of a HUD-VASH voucher have been unable to receive one. Until now.
When determining a veteran’s eligibility for a HUD-VASH voucher and other rental assistance programs, HUD historically has considered a veteran’s disability benefits as part of their income. This caused thousands of low-income and homeless veterans to exceed the income eligibility threshold for vouchers, making them ineligible to access the necessary resources to secure affordable housing. This especially presented a problem for veterans hoping to use their HUD-VASH vouchers for units funded by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which has a stricter income threshold.
In many instances, veterans have served our country, become disabled because of their service, and then been denied housing assistance because of their disability benefits. This has been no more evident than at the West Los Angeles VA campus, where 100% disabled veterans have been priced out of housing built specifically for them. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
For years, much of my effort to address veteran homelessness has been centered on this issue. I wrote letters, helped introduce legislation, held hearings, convened meetings, and drew public attention to this problem. Last month, it finally paid off.
In August, HUD finally made federal policy changes that stopped counting veterans’ disability benefits as income for the purposes of the HUD-VASH program. This will enable thousands of veterans to become eligible for housing vouchers and affordable housing and rental assistance programs, in our communities and across the country.
This is a big deal.
Going forward, veterans will not be denied housing due to their disability benefits. HUD is now working with the Treasury Department to ensure that this policy change extends to units funded by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. This is a major win for veterans across the country.
These policy changes will make a tremendous impact in getting homeless veterans off the streets and into affordable housing units. We know that having a stable home produces better life outcomes, and our veterans deserve nothing less. Now, veterans will not have their disability benefits held against them when applying for rental assistance.
I’m grateful to HUD for acting and heeding my call to do more to help homeless veterans. Our nation’s heroes should never go hungry, unemployed, or without a place to call home.
While this is a huge step in the right direction, it does not by itself solve the issue of veteran homelessness.
Congress must exhaust every resource available to connect veterans with available housing, and we must redouble our efforts to build more affordable housing units and make it easier to access them.
I’m committed to doing everything I can to ensure all our nation’s veterans are housed, and I look forward to working together with my colleagues in Congress to make that a reality.
U.S.Representative Mike Levin represents the 49th Congressional District, which includes the South Orange County cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. He was reelected in 2020 and 2022 and resides in San Juan Capistrano with his wife and two children.
By: Rep. Mike Levin
Source: Dana Point Times