AGENCY TESTIMONY
Suggestions for City Council involvement in addressing veteran homelessness
0:18:12
ยท
160 sec
Commissioner Hendon offers three key suggestions for how the City Council can help address veteran homelessness:
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Discretionary funding:
- Provide funding for nonprofits working with justice-involved veterans
- Focus on organizations supporting veterans in treatment courts, correctional facilities, and those on parole or recently released
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Local Law 37 questions:
- Include questions about veteran status on constituent intake forms
- Encourage other social service entities to do the same
- Aim to identify veterans early to prevent housing insecurity
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Use VA SQUARES:
- Encourage use of the Status Query and Response Exchange System (SQUARES)
- Screen all adult clients for veteran status and VA health care eligibility
- DVS offers to advise on leveraging this asset
James Hendon
0:18:12
Discretionary funding.
0:18:14
Provide discretionary funding for nonprofits that do work with veterans who are justice involved.
0:18:18
I'm speaking of those in veterans treatment court, specifically mentorship organizations for veteran treatment court participants, groups that visit veterans who are detained at the veterans wing at Rikers Correctional Facility, nonprofits that serve veterans who are on parole, and groups that work with New York City Veterans who were recently released from incarceration.
0:18:35
The nexus between those who are justice involved and those experience how experiencing housing and security is real.
0:18:40
We pray that the city council can help buoy those organizations that are committed to providing this assistance.
0:18:45
Local law 37 questions.
0:18:47
Ask the local law 37 of 2,024 questions on your constituent intake forms in your district offices.
0:18:54
These questions are voluntary, they are, to paraphrase, have you or any member of your household served in the armed forces, National Guard, or Reserve of the United States?
0:19:03
Next question.
0:19:04
Do you consent to the NYC Department of Veterans Services contacting you regarding services and resources for veterans?
0:19:11
In a city where only twenty four point one percent of all veterans self identify, we cannot help veterans combat housing and security when we do not know who they are.
0:19:19
Further, a critical aspect of this work is reaching a veteran and veteran family to prevent them from becoming housing insecure in the first place.
0:19:25
In addition to including these questions in your intake forms, I humbly beg you to ask other social services entities in your networks to do the same thing.
0:19:33
DVS is engaging social service entities about this as well.
0:19:36
Success is if all groups that provide social services of any nature, elected officials, agencies, community benefit organizations, etcetera, ask these questions.
0:19:46
Use VA SQUARES.
0:19:48
SQUARES, which once again stands for Status Query and Response Exchange System.
0:19:52
Can be found online at va.gov/homeless/squares.
0:19:56
Once again, it's va.gov/homeless/squares.
0:20:00
It's a VA web application that allows public and nonprofit social services providers to screen all adult clients for veteran status and VA health care eligibility.
0:20:08
After being granted access, an organization can either input and client information individually or bulk upload the information from an Excel file.
0:20:16
The VA tool, which captures no information, it is a pass through, then relays which clients on the list are veterans and whether they're eligible for VA health care.
0:20:24
Once you learn whether that client is a veteran, it is your discretion how you engage that individual.
0:20:29
Over the past two and a half years, we've worked with DHS as they've rolled out using squares.
0:20:33
We've learned that for every shelter client who tells DHS they are a veteran, one does not.
0:20:37
This is a contributory reason to the uptick in the veteran point in time count from 2023, which is five sixty seven veterans, to 2024, '6 '20 '4 veterans as our efforts slowly advance from crawl to walk to run.
0:20:51
The uptick is something I'm not happy about.
0:20:53
We don't want any homeless veterans in New York City, America, or the world.