The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program is designed to help homeless veterans and their families secure affordable permanent housing. Illustrated here are some of the payment standards and fair-market rent analytics for the VASH program. ” captionposition=”left”] Veterans who have nowhere to sleep may get the opportunity to shelter themselves and have a roof over their heads— permanently. The Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program has been specifically designed to assist homeless veterans and their families in securing affordable and permanent housing.
The program is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
HUD is already providing assistance for veterans through its Housing Choice Voucher plan that allows homeless veterans to rent privately owned homes.
“We hope it’s going to have a very positive effect on veterans and that it will enable to get them housed faster,” said Nick Ippolito, assistant chief of staff for LA County 4th District Supervisor Don Knabe’s office. “We hope this can get them into housing almost immediately. But the voucher is the most important piece.”
The VASH voucher is issued through the Housing Authority County of Los Angeles (HACoLA). According to Ippolito, veterans who qualify for the voucher will be allowed to search for housing through the VASH program.
The vouchers provide rental assistance to homeless veterans and their families, along with case management and clinical services through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
HACoLA intends to utilize the VASH vouchers to permanently house homeless veterans. Both VA and HACoLA eligibility requirements must be met in order to qualify for the VASH program, however.
When veterans have identified a residence, HACoLA must approve the unit’s rent, make sure it has passed inspection, ensure the tenant and the owner have signed a lease agreement, and then the tenant may take possession of the unit and receive the keys.
“It’s sort of the golden ticket for [veterans],” Ippolito said. “We definitely need more of this, because we have so many vets out on the street that we can help. This can be effective. If we can eliminate veteran homelessness, we can make a lot of progress as a team. We have a lot of momentum building, and that’s why it’s important to continue this.”
VASH falls under the umbrella of the Landlord Veteran Incentive program, which launched in January with the intent to encourage landlords in LA County to house veterans that have received vouchers from HACoLA.
HACoLA has already been successful in housing one veteran as part of its Landlord Veteran Incentive program through the VASH vouchers, as detailed by a press release from Knabe’s office. Miguel Hernandez became the first veteran to officially benefit from the program in March.
Other veterans are hoping to secure housing just like Hernandez did. Emilio Salas, deputy executive director for HACoLA, is a veteran himself, and he believes VASH has the potential to help thousands of people.
“As a veteran, this program has special meaning for me,” Salas said. “It helps to fulfill our promise to the men and women who served our country to leave no person behind. Los Angeles County has the largest homeless veteran population in the United States and is also one of the least affordable rental markets in the country. This program has helped thousands of veterans within the county to secure stable housing and to provide the services necessary to help them thrive.”
VASH has numbers readily available for payment standards and fair-market rents for the program. For example, a one-bedroom home has a payment standard of $1,500— the max-cost amount HACoLA is willing to accept for a one-bedroom home for a veteran benefiting from the program.
There are many barriers for veterans for getting housing and health care, Ippolito said. He hopes VASH makes a difference.
“Veterans have all these different elements to address,” he said. “They have a lot of issues, like mental illness. They have a lot of things to deal with before they need to get housing. You and I can easily get an apartment because of our situations, but imagine them. So we’re hoping this will be very positive.”
Veterans who are interested in the program can call the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center at (310) 478-3711. They may also contact HACoLA at (626) 586-1572 or LandlordVIP@hacola.org .
