White River Junction VA Medical Center’s Homeless Veteran team celebrates the end of Veteran homelessness in Chittenden County
Vermont Business Magazine The White River Junction VA Medical Center Homeless Veteran team is celebrating the end of Veteran homelessness in Chittenden County, Vermont. Chittenden County becomes the 79th community in the United States to declare an end to Veteran Homelessness.
“Each one of the three states and 79 communities that has effectively ended Veteran homelessness has worked closely with federal partners, like VA and used data to guide key decisions. Chittenden County reached this important milestone by following that same formula,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Chittenden County’s achievement shows that by working together across all levels of government and in coordination with private and non-profit organizations, we can ensure that homelessness among Veterans is rare, brief and non-recurring.”
Meghan Snitkin, the White River Junction VA Homeless Services Program Manager concurs, “This achievement is a direct result of the hard work of the White River Junction VA Homeless Team in conjunction with many community partners. We are so proud to be a part of this community and are grateful to all of the people who have helped make this goal a reality.”
As part of a relentless effort to end homelessness among Vermont Veterans, the White River Junction VA Homeless team partnered with the Vermont Veterans Committee on Homelessness, Chittenden County Continuum of Care (CoC), and asked Vermont mayors to join the “Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness”, a nationwide initiative calling on local leaders to make a public commitment to end Veteran homelessness in their communities.
Mayor Kristine Lott of Winooski accepted the challenge in November of 2019. Through a joint effort with state, community, and federal partners, a coordinated system was created to identify, assess, connect, and permanently house Veterans experiencing homelessness.
This powerful collaboration and coordination across government and nonprofit agencies resulted in Chittenden county meeting specific benchmarks and criteria set by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Meeting the criteria for each benchmark, set by USICH, means Chittenden County has created a system and capacity to quickly identify and house veterans experiencing homelessness.
Beverly Ebersold, Director of National Initiatives, USICH, praised the achievement. “We are confident that the infrastructure and systems you have built will ensure that any Veteran experiencing homelessness in the region will get the support they need to quickly obtain a permanent home. On behalf of USICH and our federal partners, we recognize and appreciate your extraordinary team and look forward to continuing our collaboration as we work to end homelessness for all Americans.”
Stephen Lunna, VT Veterans Committee on Homelessness, explains, “This recognition is a high point of several years of hard work by many people. The Veterans Committee is honored to be a part of such a collaborative effort and reaching this goal emphasizes the commitment we make to our Veterans. There is still more work to be done but we will work diligently to continue meeting the needs of our most vulnerable veterans as we strive to end Veterans’ homelessness in the whole state.”
The relationship between health and homelessness is widely acknowledged. “Our Homeless Veteran team has done amazing work. This accomplishment demonstrates that the VA and its community partners are united and poised to provide a systematic, coordinated response to ensure homelessness is prevented whenever possible,” says Rob Scott, Chief of Mental Health at the White River Junction VA. “Stable housing is such a critical component of both physical and mental health.”
Veterans experiencing homelessness are encouraged to call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 1-877-424-3838.
Source: White River Junction, VT — Veteran Affairs Medical Center 9.30.2020