VETERANS: Murray Applauds New Federal Housing Vouchers for Homeless Veterans in Washington State

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of both the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, applauded Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro’s announcement of new resources to help homeless veterans secure stable housing. Washington state will receive 240 housing vouchers that will be distributed among thirteen different housing authorities across the state. These include both tenant-based vouchers, which are used to cover rent in private housing, as well as project-based vouchers, which are attached to specific units of housing. Washington state will receive over $1.5 million of the almost $65 million total grants to offer permanent supportive housing opportunities to veterans experiencing homelessness. 

The vouchers are part of the joint Department of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH program), a program Murray helped restart in 2008 and which she has continued to help fund every year since.  Through the program, homeless veterans receive vouchers through HUD and case management and services through the VA.

“There is no more solemn promise we make as a nation than our commitment to care for the men and women who have served in the United States military, and it is great news that so many homeless veterans in Washington state will benefit from these resources” said Senator Patty Murray. “I’m pleased to see such strong support for a program I’ve been proud to fight for on behalf of Washington state veterans. Each one of these vouchers represents a step toward finding a permanent home for a veteran who served our country, but is struggling to find stable housing. We owe it to our veterans to support them and make sure they have the resources they need to find high quality health care, a stable job, and a stable home. We are moving in the right direction with the HUD-VASH program in fixing some of the challenges our veterans face—but the work is far from over.” 

With the assistance of HUD-VASH, veteran homelessness in the United States has declined 33 percent since 2010. In October 2014, Murray announced an additional 335 housing vouchers for Washington state veterans. 

See a breakdown of voucher allocation below (totals include both tenant-based and project-based vouchers):