NEWS

Chillicothe gets housing grant for homeless veterans

The Gazette staff

CHILLICOTHE – The Chillicothe Metro Housing Authority has received $128,980 in federal funding as part of $7 million awarded to 24 public housing agencies across the country to help homeless veterans find permanent housing.

The funding comes as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher program, which provides housing assistance for homeless veterans while also partnering them with a local VA medical center.

“This rental assistance for homeless veterans in Chillicothe is an important step in honoring the promise to support those who have already given so much to our nation,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said.

The CMHA and the Fairfield Metro Housing Authority were the only two agencies in Ohio selected to receive the funding.

As part of the HUD-VASH program, VA medical centers work closely with homeless veterans before referring them to local housing agencies to receive the vouchers. The decisions on voucher recipients are based on a variety of factors, including the duration of homelessness and the need for longer-term, more intensive support in obtaining and maintaining permanent housing, according to a news release.

The grant award in Chillicothe is expected to provide funds for rental assistance and medical care for 31 tenant-based vouchers, Brown said.

Brown said he has been active in veterans legislation over the past year. He offered support for the Homeless Veterans Prevention Act in December, legislation that would improve homelessness prevention programs and increase availability of transitional housing for veterans. This year, he was on the veterans conference committee that negotiated the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 to ensure accountability within the Veterans Administration, and last month introduced legislation that would ensure unit commanders document events individual service members are exposed to that may later be connected with post-traumatic stress disorders or other injuries.