The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved the Wichita Housing Authority’s application for 35 new housing vouchers, which will subsidize permanent housing for homeless veterans.
“The voucher assistance supports the national focus of providing permanent, supportive housing for homeless people, rather than serve them in temporary shelters,” Mayor Carl Brewer said. “This assistance is also consistent with recommendations in the report of the Task Force on Ending Chronic Homelessness in Wichita. The Wichita Housing Authority and its partners continue to make progress in their admirable effort to combat homelessness. ”
The vouchers were made available through a special Congressional appropriation, which created the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) initiative.
The Wichita program will operate in partnership with the Wichita Veterans Medical Center, and is a welcome addition to the homeless services continuum in Wichita. The program will be implemented as soon as operational requirements and logistics are published.
The Veterans voucher assistance comes a week after the Housing and Community Services Department secured $56,484 from the State of Kansas for Wichita homeless service providers to offset operational expenses, provide essential services and fund homeless prevention.
“Every allocation we receive, whether large or small, brings us a few steps closer to providing the types of services which will not only meet their immediate needs, but also result create a pathway out of homeless and into self-sufficiency,” Mary K. Vaughn, Director of the Housing and Community Services Department, said.
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