The City of Chicago Partners With Numerous Agencies to End Veteran Homelessness

Recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) announced that the City will be partnering with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA); All Chicago; and the Corporation for Supportive Housing to end homelessness among veterans in Chicago by the end of 2015.

“No one who has who fought to defend their country should struggle to find a home,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “We will keep faith with our veterans by making the investments needed to ensure that no veteran remains homeless in Chicago.

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Antonio R. Riley, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Midwest Regional Administrator

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ending veteran homelessness in Chicago will require nearly $5 million annually to provide subsidized housing, supportive services, and other forms of assistance. They note this figure is “a bargain” when compared to the high monetary and societal costs of providing emergency care and services to homeless people who cycle from shelters to hospitals and other institutions and then back to the streets again.

Additional more than 80 percent of the funding for 25 Cities Chicago will come from the federal government. Mayor Emanuel’s 2015 budget will invest more than $800,000 and close the gap on the remaining needs.

25 Cities Chicago is the local initiative to end veteran and chronic homelessness in the community by 2015, is now providing permanent housing for former members of our military who have been living on the City’s streets.

“In just a few years we have reduced homelessness among veterans by 33%, but we have more work to do,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “I applaud Mayor Emanuel for accepting the Obama Administration’s Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. I look forward to working with him over the next year to ensure all of our veterans in Chicago have a stable home and an opportunity to succeed.”

“It is simply unacceptable that we should have homeless veterans after all they have sacrificed for our country,” said Antonio R. Riley, HUD Midwest Regional Administrator. “While we have made significant strides, our cross-collaboration will build upon our successes and maximize our impact. Not only is breaking silos to help homeless veterans the right thing to do, it is also the most fiscally sound approach.”

The City conducted a point-in-time count in January 2014 that identified 721 homeless veterans. Of this count, 465 homeless veterans live in shelters and 256 homeless veterans are unsheltered. As outlined in Chicago’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness 2.0, the City of Chicago, All Chicago, and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center have developed a shared plan to move as many veterans as possible from homelessness to housing.

“By working collaboratively with our federal and local partners, the President’s goal of ending Veteran Homelessness by the end of 2015 is doable here in Chicago,” said Evelyn J. Diaz, Commissioner of DFSS. “We are proud to take part in this combined effort to serve those who so honorably served us and our great nation.”

“Every veteran should have the safety and stability of secure housing, and with this initiative the City of Chicago is becoming a symbol and shining example for other cities to follow,” said Victor LaGroon, a Post-9/11 Army Veteran and Co-Chair of the Chicago Advisory Council on Veterans Affairs.

For more information about the how the City of Chicago is assisting homeless veterans visit http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en.html.

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