Multiple Government Agencies and Private Businesses Nationwide are Working to Help Get Veterans Benefits Paid Out, Increasing Home Ownership and Reducing Homelessness

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Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, an Air Force Veteran, thanks a fellow Veteran, who is currently speaking to a TVC Claims Counselor about his pending VA claim, for his service.

The number of homeless veterans in the United States counted on a single night this year declined 7.2 percent from the previous year.

Houston, Tx (PRWEB) January 04, 2013

Multiple government agencies and private businesses nationwide are working to help get veterans benefits paid out and increase veteran’s home ownership.

This year, the Texas Veterans Commission is hosting a series of “Beating the VA Backlog” events in order to provide direct, one-on-one assistance to Texas Veterans with disability claims currently pending with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The mission of the Texas Veterans Commission is to advocate for and provide superior service to Veterans and their families in the areas of disability claims assistance, employment services, education benefits and grant funding.

Members from the TVC State Strike Force Teams, as well as TVC Claims Counselors, will be on hand in multiple cities across the state to provide direct and specific assistance to Veterans, family members, and survivors, including checking the status of pending claims, identifying all additional development required for claims processing, and collecting evidence for cases identified as missing documentation.

“Since the TVC State Strike Force Teams were authorized by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House two months ago, we have already helped more than 6,900 Veterans whose claims were stuck in the VA backlog and provided over 2,300 cases to the VA for action,” said Thomas Palladino, TVC Executive Director.

With the backlog of VA disability claims in Texas consisting of over 64,700 pending claims, Veterans everywhere are experiencing extensive delays in receiving the benefits that are owed to them in service to their country. Two State Strike Force Teams consisting of eight claims counselors each are located at the two VA Regional Offices in Houston and Waco. These teams take claims that are backlogged and ensure that the claims have all information and evidence necessary for the VA to immediately process the claim.

Additionally, TVC Fully Developed Claims Teams are located at the VA Regional Offices and in TVC offices throughout the state in order to improve access and assist Veterans in filing fully developed claims, which are processed faster by the VA.

These ongoing events are open to all Veterans, their families, and survivors and all services, free of charge. Preregistering will give staff an opportunity to research your claim prior to the event and provide you with the ability to select an appointment time. Walk-ins are allowed on a first-come, first-served basis as time allows.

In addition to the TVC, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is steadfastly working towards ending homelessness across the country and is closely monitoring the rate of Veterans homelessness.

The number of homeless veterans in the United States counted on a single night this year declined 7.2 percent from the previous year, a reduction significantly higher than that seen in the general population, according to figures recently released by HUD.

Overall, the number of homeless people in the country declined only slightly, to 633,782 counted on a single night in January, about 0.4 percent lower than the previous year. The figures included a 1.4 percent increase in homeless people who are part of households that have at least one adult and one child.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the point-in-time numbers are nonetheless relatively positive, given the state of the economy when the survey was conducted in January.

“We continue to see a stable level of homelessness across our country at a time of great stress for those at risk of losing their housing,” Donovan said during a conference call with reporters recently.

The decline in veterans’ homelessness, from 67,495 in January 2011 to 62,619 in January 2012, followed a 12 percent reduction between 2010 and 2011. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said the 17.2 percent decline since January 2009 keeps the Obama administration on track to meet its promise to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015.

“We are building momentum,” Shinseki said during the same conference call. The decrease in the homeless veterans population is largely attributable to the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program that provides permanent housing to homeless veterans. More than 37,000 veterans have been housed using HUD Section 8 housing vouchers, which are coupled with support from case managers and access to VA health care.

“It’s VASH that’s been having an impact so far,” said Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor who serves as director of Research for the VA’s National Center on Homelessness among Veterans.

Meanwhile, the VA is tripling the amount of grant money available to Supportive Services for Veterans Families. The program, which began in 2011 with $60 million in homeless prevention grants to organizations around the country and another $100 million in 2012, is being expanded to $300 million.

The grants are aimed at “stopping the downward slide” of veterans and their families who face eviction or are temporarily without housing, Shineski said. The money can be used for rapid re-housing of veterans and their families who have lost homes, or to address problems with issues such as child care and rent.

The new funding is expected to serve 70,000 veterans and family members at risk of homelessness, according to the VA.

Much of the funding will be targeted at veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, Culhane said. “It’s going to make a difference,” he said.

Shinseki said that the VA is on track to reach “functional zero” in 2015, a goal that would mean getting all chronically homeless veterans off the street. But short-term homelessness among veterans will still exist, he said.

“The prevention phase will go on for a very long time,” he said.

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