Showing posts with label National League of Cities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National League of Cities. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Virginia Moves to End Veteran Homelessness by the End of 2015

English: Homeless veteran in New York
English: Homeless veteran (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Communities across the state engage in the 100 Day Challenge to house veterans experiencing homelessness

RICHMOND, VA - Today marks the kickoff of the statewide 100 Day Challenge to house veterans experiencing homelessness. On any given night, 617 veterans in Virginia are homeless based on the 2014 Point-In-Time Count, a survey of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons. Understanding the gravity of this situation, Governor Terry McAuliffe and mayors from Alexandria, Hampton, Richmond, Petersburg, Salem, Roanoke, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News signed the Mayors Challenge. The initiative is designed to encourage community leaders to collaborate on strategies targeting veteran homelessness. 

“Together, we can be a force for positive change,” said Governor McAuliffe, one of only five state executives to sign the Mayors Challenge. “We must renew our commitment to better serve our veterans in every community across the Commonwealth. Our labors on their behalf pale compared to the sacrifices these men and women have made in service to our country.”

This 100 Day Challenge is a step toward ending veteran homelessness by the end of December 2015. It follows a two-day Boot Camp in which community partners from Roanoke, Richmond and Hampton Roads teamed up to create local goals based on unique challenges that each community is experiencing in housing veterans faster.  The initiative was sponsored by the Governor’s Homeless Coordinating Council, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, and the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. The National League of Cities also has been an active partner in encouraging local leader participation in the Challenge.

“This important effort will significantly strengthen Virginia's ability to end veteran homelessness,” said Brandi Jancaitis, Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services/Virginia Wounded Warrior Program. “The Boot Camp and 100 Day Challenge highlight the importance of collaboration on federal, state and local levels to tackle this challenge.   In the past two days, communities set concrete goals, and the 100 Day Challenge puts urgency behind these goals and our Governor's commitment to end homelessness for veterans in the Commonwealth.”

The 100 Day Challenge is an opportunity for members of local, state, and federal governments, as well as nonprofits, charities, and faith-based organizations, to join together in teams to implement strategies that have been proven effective in ending homelessness in communities across Virginia and the nation. The Housing First model is one of the adopted approaches. It focuses on providing housing for the most chronically homeless veterans, then connecting them with additional resources to retain their housing. These resources include case management, health care, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and job training. This was a primary strategy used by Phoenix, Arizona, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Leaders of the two cities announced early this year that they have ended chronic veteran homelessness in their communities. Another key to their success was the deployment of navigation teams into the communities to work directly with veterans and obtain any documentation they may need to obtain housing. Once housed, veterans are linked to additional resources and provided with what they need to create a stable lifestyle and remain in housing.

“The 100 Day Challenge is an acknowledgement of the need to bolster our efforts and establish clear, sharp goals for ending veteran homelessness without delay,” said John Harvey, Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs.

Bill Hazel, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, added, “The swift, enthusiastic response by communities across the state gives me confidence. We can meet this important goal and eradicate veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.”

“Bold leadership at the state and local levels will ensure that veterans affected by homelessness have an opportunity to live in stable housing,”said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “This should be a minimal expectation in our society. Our veterans have earned it.”
“Ending homelessness among veterans in Virginia is a goal that is within our reach,” said Phyllis Chamberlain, executive director of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. “We have the political and community will to do this. It is the right thing to do to house veterans who have served our country. It also makes economic sense, as housing vulnerable veterans is generally less expensive than keeping them in homelessness.”

The Hampton Roads, Roanoke and Richmond metro area communities, in partnership with the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, have rigorously evaluated their current systems and created a plan to efficiently house as many veterans as they can in the next 100 days. Through this effort, they will also be eliminating the duplication of processes, challenging groups to look at this issue in a new way, and moving veterans into housing first while connecting them to services more quickly.  This collaboration of local, state and federal efforts is a pivotal movement that will push Virginia closer to becoming the first state to reach the federal goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.

These local communities are continuously searching to create partnerships with individuals, organizations and landlords who want to contribute to the lives of the men and women who have protected our freedom.

About Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness: A statewide nonprofit organization that advocates for increased resources and implementation of best practice strategies, such as the Housing First model, to prevent and end homelessness.

About Department of Veteran Services (DVS): (www.dvs.virginia.gov):The Virginia Department of Veterans Services operates 23 benefit services offices where representatives assist veterans and their family members in filing claims for federal veterans benefits.  Among other services, DVS operates two long-term care facilities offering nursing and domiciliary care for veterans, and also provides veterans with direct linkages to needed services including behavioral healthcare, veteran’s benefits, housing, employment and other public and private assistance programs.

(Anyone do the math on this?  100 days between now and the end of December, 2015?  Looks more like over 400 days to me, but I might be doing the old math.)



Thursday, June 12, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Signs Agreement to Help End Veteran Homelessness

United States Department of Housing and Urban ...
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Seal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Richmond, Virginia - Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed onto a national agreement aimed at ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.

“This ambitious accord will require cooperation and leadership at all levels to complete such an important task,” McAuliffe said. “We are all guided by the same drive and desire to serve these men and women who have served their country.”

Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs John Harvey made the announcement Monday at a statewide summit in Richmond sponsored by the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness.

“This endeavor clearly recognizes the status veterans have in the Commonwealth,” Harvey said. “They can be assured that they have advocates at the highest level of government in Virginia.”

The agreement, known as the Mayor’s Challenge, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is being promoted by the National League of Cities through its Homeless Veteran Leadership Network. Originally envisioned as a means for city leaders to pull together and implement local strategies targeting veteran homeless, the agreement has also attracted commitments from chief executives of Colorado, Connecticut,Minnesota, Puerto Rico and now Virginia.

Monday’s summit drew homeless service providers, business leaders and state and local government officials, who met together to develop an action plan for addressing the specific needs of veterans and their families. The goal was to create a state plan that cultivates partnerships, identifies and secures new resources, and increases efficiencies in the delivery of services. The summit was a collaborative effort of the Virginia Department of Veteran Services and the Homeless Outcomes Coordinating Council, and was funded by a grant from Dominion Resources.

The Homeless Outcomes Coordinating Council, led by Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Hazel and Commerce and Trade Secretary Maurice Jones, has embraced the veteran initiative as part of its overall effort to reduce homelessness in the Commonwealth. The group’s hard work is generating significant results. Homelessness in the Commonwealth has declined 7.9 percent in the last year, with a 10.8 percent decrease in family homelessness and a 14 percent decrease in veteran homelessness. Much of that progress can be attributed to bipartisan support for permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing solutions.

“One in every 10 Virginians is a veteran,” said Secretary Hazel. “They are our neighbors, friends, brothers, sisters, parents and children.”

“All Virginians should be concerned about veteran homelessness,” added Secretary Jones. “These brave men and women deserve the certainty and security of a place they can call home.”Nationally, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness established the goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. About 58,000 veterans are homeless in the United States.

The initiative has attracted widespread interest. First Lady Michelle Obama announced her support last week.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Administration Appointments

English: Former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe spea...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced additional appointments to his administration today. The appointees will join McAuliffe’s administration focused on finding common ground with members of both parties on issues that will grow Virginia’s economy and create more jobs across the Commonwealth.

Secretariat of Commerce and Trade

Susan Y. “Syd” Dorsey, Advisor for Small Business Development Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity
Syd Dorsey was the head of marketing and sales for Astyra Corporation, a Virginia minority business. Prior to that, Ms. Dorsey and spent 19 years with IBM Corporation with her last assignment as Global Marketing Manager for the State and Local Government Industries, including as IBM’s liaison to the National Governors’ Association, National Association of Counties, and National League of Cities. Ms. Dorsey previously served eight years on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors as a member of its Executive Committee and Chair of the Special Committee on Diversity and holds a B.S. in Architecture and an M.B.A from the University of Virginia.


Janet A. Aylor, Deputy Secretary of Finance
Janet Aylor currently serves as the Assistant Director of Debt Management for the Virginia Department of the Treasury.  As part of her duties she is the manager of the Virginia College Building Authority and for the past year, the Virginia Public School Authority. Ms. Aylor joined Treasury in July of 2001, after serving as Debt Manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation.  Prior to that, she spent twelve years as Director of Finance for the Virginia Resources Authority and seven years as an analyst with the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget.  She holds both B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from the College of William and Mary, and is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and the National Institute for Public Finance.

Secretariat of Natural Resources

Stephanie Bishop Williams, Deputy Director, Department of Historic Resources
Stephanie Bishop Williams is from Brunswick County, and graduated from Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1990. She earned her undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston in 1994 and her Master’s degree from North Carolina State University in 2004. In the past several years, she has worked at the Division of Legislative Services as an Associate Researcher and has also served as adjunct professor of English at John Tyler Community College.

Janet Lychock, Confidential Assistant for Policy, Department of Environmental Quality
Janet Lychock most recently worked as a cost analyst on the decade-long, multi-national Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope construction project, based in the Republic of Chile and sponsored, in part, by the National Science Foundation.  Prior to that, Ms. Lychock worked as a research analyst in the fields of finance and telecommunications.  She received her B.S. degree from the School of Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University and her M.B.A. from Virginia Tech.

Secretariat of Public Safety

Karen Brown, Chair, Virginia Parole Board
Karen Brown was appointed Vice-Chair of the Virginia Parole Board by former Governor Robert McDonnell in 2011.  She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Ms. Brown served in the Newport News and Chesapeake Offices of the Commonwealth's Attorney for 16 years.  In that capacity, she prosecuted cases in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations, General District and Circuit Courts with a concentration on child abuse and sexual assault cases.  She graduated from Hampton University with a B.A. degree in Psychology.  She received her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law in 1991, and was admitted to the bar that same year.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth
Board Appointments

Health and Human Resources
Board of Optometry

·       Devon Cabot of Woodbridge, Aide to Supervisor Frank Principi, Prince William County
·       Dr. Helen Clayton-Jeter, O.D., of Great Falls, Health Program Coordinator, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Health and Constituent Affairs

Board of Social Services

·       Lou Ali of Richmond, Council Chief of Staff, City of Richmond
·       Sheila Coppage of Norfolk, Resident Service Specialist, Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority
·       Mona Malik of Great Falls, President, Peaceful Families Project
·       Clyde Santana of NorfolkCommanderUSNR-R-RET; Retired, Special Agent in Charge, Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
·       Kent Willis of Arlington, Retired, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union
Enhanced by Zemanta