The Pine Bluff Housing Authority will receive 10 housing-choice vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD announced Thursday that it was awarding $46 million in rental assistance and housing vouchers to agencies nationwide to help veterans at risk of experiencing homelessness, according to a HUD release.
The assistance is provided through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by the VA.
Under the program, Arkansas will receive $99,318 between these two agencies:
The Housing Authority, working with Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, was awarded $44,246, for 10 vouchers. And the Texarkana Housing Authority, working with Overton Brooks VA Medical Center, was awarded $55,072, for 10 vouchers, according to the release.
"These vouchers are critical tools in helping communities effectively end homelessness among veterans," according to the release.
A component of the Housing Choice Voucher program, the HUD-VA program's vouchers enable homeless veterans to obtain affordable, decent housing in the private market.
"Ending veteran homelessness has been a top priority for the Trump Administration since day one," HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in the release. "We have an obligation to ensure that our nation's veterans, who have given so much for our country are not left out on the streets. They fought for us, now it's time for us to fight for them."
In the HUD-VA program, VA medical centers assess veterans experiencing homelessness before referring them to housing agencies for the vouchers.
"Decisions are based on a variety of factors, most importantly the duration of homelessness and the need for longer term, more intensive support in obtaining and maintaining permanent housing. The ... program includes both the rental assistance the voucher provides and the comprehensive case management that [VA medical centers staff] offers," according to the release.
Veterans participating in the program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30% of their income toward rent. VA offers eligible homeless veterans clinical and supportive services through its medical centers across the U.S., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
For the nationwide list of voucher recipients announced Thursday, visit https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/2020HUDVASHChart.pdf.