{"id":8073,"date":"2024-10-07T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8073"},"modified":"2024-10-07T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T14:30:00","slug":"houston-social-workers-three-day-effort-to-house-homeless-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8073","title":{"rendered":"Houston social workers\u2019 three-day effort to house homeless Veterans\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-10-07T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

A dedicated team of VA social workers, local police officers and community outreach staff hit the streets of Houston as part of a three-day effort to house unsheltered homeless Veterans.\u00a0The team traveled throughout the city to find Veterans in homeless encampments, engage them and ultimately get them off the streets.\u00a0All in all, 67 Veterans were engaged and many were housed during this national initiative, called a homeless surge event.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal during the three-day homeless surge was to work with our community partners to engage unsheltered Veterans in the community and link them to same-day interim housing and a permanent housing intervention,\u201d said Robert Birdow, program manager of Houston VA\u2019s<\/a> homeless program. \u201cIt was so rewarding to find Veterans in need and get them help immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans placed in new domiciliary<\/h2>\n

According to Birdow, a number of the homeless Veterans were placed in Houston\u2019s brand new VA domiciliary, which opened in July and offers Veterans residential treatment and rehabilitation services. Other Veterans were connected to housing through grant per diem programs, VA\u2019s Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program and Houston\u2019s homeless coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHouston was one of six cities chosen to pilot this homeless surge event.\u00a0We feel very honored to have been given this opportunity,\u201d Birdow said.<\/p>\n

More than 100 staff at Houston VA work for the medical center\u2019s homeless program, which is dedicated to housing and supporting Veterans on their journey to independence. While the staff is committed to this mission all year long, the three-day surge event was very eye-opening to all involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing out as a cohesive group with our community partners to find and house Veterans allowed us to cut through the red tape and get to the heart of the matter, which is housing Veterans,\u201d said Monique Thibiduex, a social worker. \u201cIt was very heartwarming to be a part of something that made a difference in Veterans\u2019 lives right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allison Bond, deputy director of VA\u2019s National Health Care for Homeless Veterans program, visited Houston to observe and participate in the homeless surge event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so refreshing to get out in the field to do outreach, talk to Veterans and see the Houston team in action,\u201d Bond said.\u00a0\u201cThe Veterans in Houston are lucky to have such a dedicated team of people fighting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VA social workers in Houston traveled throughout the city to find homeless Veterans, engage them and ultimately get them off the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homelessness-housing-support","category-housing-home-loans"],"yoast_head":"\nHouston social workers\u2019 three-day effort to house homeless Veterans\u00a0 - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"VA social workers in Houston traveled throughout the city to find homeless Veterans, engage them and ultimately get them off the streets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8073\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Houston social workers\u2019 three-day effort to house homeless Veterans\u00a0 - 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