Michigan county honored for ending veteran homelessness
November 11, 2017
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeing some progress in its ongoing efforts to end veteran homelessness across the country. Michigan’s Kent County was recently recognized among 54 other communities nationwide for achieving a “Functional Zero Community” status.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness presented Kent County with an award for successfully getting homeless veterans off the streets. The county is the state’s first community to attain the goal. The functional zero community status means that both current and future homeless veterans are connected to resources to secure housing.
Since 2015, the Ending Veteran Homelessness initiative in Kent County has housed 400 veterans. Local organizations in Michigan went through a collaborative process that involved identifying homeless veterans, creating plans to provide immediate shelter and helping veterans move into permanent homes.
Veteran homelessness has declined by 50 percent since 2009 when the VA first announced its goal of eradicating it, according to an agency spokesperson. However, there is still a long way to go before the problem is completely solved.
Capt. Kelly Rose, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s chief housing solutions officer, emphasized the importance of having a plan in place. “There’s no way to prevent everyone’s homelessness, but really having a system engaged to be able to quickly rehouse people is the most important thing,” she said.