Menendez, Booker Announce Nearly $570K to Help NJ’s Homeless Vets Move into Permanent Housing

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced $568,362 in federal funding for veterans to locate and move into permanent housing with case management and clinical services. The funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

“The women and men who bravely served our country should not find themselves living on the street,” Sen. Menendez said. “It is our duty as a nation to ensure our veterans are completely taken care of – from health care to housing. I applaud this funding because it helps ensure vets in New Jersey will receive the shelter, services, and support they need and deserve."

“We have a sacred duty to provide those our nation sends into harm’s way with the care and support they’ve earned when they return home,” said Sen. Booker. “This federal investment honors our commitment to these brave men and women by providing them much-needed housing assistance during difficult financial times.”

New Jersey HUD-VASH tenant-based vouchers will be given to:

• N.J. Dept. of Community Affairs - $346,489
• N.J. Dept. of Community Affairs - $140,468
• Housing Authority of Gloucester County - $44,169
• Housing Authority of City of Camden - $37,236

In a letter sent late last year, Sen. Menendez urged then-Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin to commit that the Department will not abandon longstanding and effective efforts to address homelessness among veterans. The letter was in response to press reports revealing that the VA planned to divert $460 million in funding from the HUD-VASH program.

The HUD-VASH program, which began in 2008, awards funding based on demonstrated need in communities with high numbers of homeless veterans, and works with local housing authorities and VA facilities to provide permanent housing and case management and clinical assistance. Veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program rent privately-owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.