LITTLE ROCK — Housing authorities in North Little Rock and Fayetteville have been awarded a total of $181,750 in federal grants to provide permanent housing and case management for 50 homeless veterans in Arkansas.
The grants, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s veterans affairs supportive housing program, are part of $72.6 million appropriated for all 50 states and the District of Columbia to support the needs of more than 10,000 homeless veterans, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said in a joint announcement Tuesday.
The North Little Rock Housing Authority was awarded $95,930 and the Fayetteville Housing Authority was awarded $85,820. Each grant is enough to pay for the vouchers of 25 homeless veterans, a news release said.
Tuesday’s announcement marks the first of two rounds of the funding. Donovan’s department expects to announce the remaining grants by the end of summer, according to a news release.
Under the program, VA medical centers provide supportive services and case management to eligible homeless veterans. The centers work closely with those veterans and then refer them to local public housing agencies, which administer the vouchers. Participants are chosen based upon a variety of factors, including the need for, and willingness to participate in, case management, the news release said.
Veterans participating in the program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. The VA offers eligible homeless veterans clinical and supportive services through its medical centers across the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 03/28/2012