City of Los Angeles, CA

08/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/08/2024 08:42

Urgent Action on Homelessness Continues: Following Advocacy By Mayors Across the Country, More Veterans Will No Longer Have to Choose Between Housing and Disability Benefits

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LOS ANGELES - Following the direct advocacy of Mayor Bass and the United States Conference of Mayors to the federal government, a new policy change will make more veterans eligible for housing and increase their housing options. Today, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a federal notice establishing policy changes that make it clear that veterans experiencing homelessness should not be disqualified from supportive housing based on their disability status.

The United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Homelessness has focused on drawing attention to the sad reality that across the country, veterans are sometimes forced to choose between housing and their disability income, leaving too many units for veterans vacant and too many HUD Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers (HUD-VASH) unused.

"Veterans who have served our country should never have to choose between housing and their disability benefits," said Mayor Bass. "I wholeheartedly thank the Biden-Harris Administration and the many leaders who helped enact this significant policy change which will save lives and bring more Veterans inside into permanent housing."

This policy change will save veterans' lives and follows strategic actions and advocacy by Mayors, including:

  • U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Task Force on Homelessness - As Chair of the United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Homelessness, Mayor Bass is working with Mayors from across the country in advocating for solutions to end homelessness, including an expansion of veteran eligibility for housing vouchers. Mayor Bass and then-USCM President Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve led a bipartisan group of more than 50 mayors from across the country to meet with key members of the Biden-Harris Administration, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives. While there, they advocated for this change in veteran eligibility directly with the Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

  • Historic Partnership through ALLINside- Mayor Bass secured a historic agreement with the White House and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness as Los Angeles was selected to be one of five cities to enter in an unprecedented partnership called ALL INside, a first-of-its kind initiative to address unsheltered homelessness all across the country. Yesterday, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Homelessness, USICH, HUD and the White House Office of Management and Budget held a convening with L.A. housing leaders to continue building on efforts to remove barriers to housing and to discuss the need for more housing vouchers, increasing the project base voucher cap for housing authorities, and funding for programs to prevent and end homelessness.

  • Expediting Housing Access: Shortly after declaring a local homelessness emergency, Mayor Bass partnered with local housing providers including the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and the L.A. County Development Authority and helped secure waivers from HUD the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to expedite the process of moving unhoused Angelenos people into housing. Last week, HUD approved the city's request to extend the presumptive eligibility waiver for another year by HUD.

HUD is expanding access to housing for veterans by:

  • Requiring public housing agencies that administer HUD-VASH to set the initial income eligibility for veterans at 80% of Area Median Income, rather than 50% of Area Median Income. The use of this higher initial income eligibility threshold is currently optional, but HUD is now making this increase mandatory. This expanded eligibility will allow for more veterans to be housed.

  • Adopting an alternative definition of annual income for applicants and participants of the HUD-VASH program that excludes veterans' service-connected disability benefits when determining eligibility for housing. This change will mean that veterans, including those who are most severely disabled, will no longer need to choose between their benefits and housing.

HUD-VASH is a collaborative program that pairs HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs case management supportive services. The Los Angeles Housing Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles are expected to issue guidance to come into alignment with HUD's new policy on veteran income eligibility.

Last month, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) announced the resultsof the 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count, which showed a decline in homelessness in the City of Los Angeles for the first time in six years and historic reductions in street homelessness. The 2024 count results saw a 17% increase in the number of people moved off the streets.

Since her first day in officewhen she declared an unprecedented emergency on the homelessness crisis, Mayor Karen Bass has driven change in how we address homelessness with new initiatives to bring people living in encampments inside. She has also worked to prevent people from losing their homes and to lock arms across all levels of government to move people inside and save lives and restore neighborhoods.

In 2023, tent encampments came down in every council district, and thousands more Angelenos came inside than in 2022 thanks to action locking arms with the City Council, County and LAHSA. The Mayor has worked to improve services provided for unhoused Angelenos coming inside and has also been vocal about the need to make homelessness programs more cost effective as this urgent work continues.