On August 28th, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) announced that the Chittenden County Continuum of Care (VT-501) has eradicated homelessness among veterans in Chittenden County.
The announcement, sent to Mayor Kristine Lott of Winooski and Mayor Miro Weinberger of Burlington states:
“We are confident that the infrastructure and systems you have built will ensure that any Veteran experiencing homelessness in the region will get the support they need to quickly obtain a permanent home.”
Mayor Lott stated in an official press release:
“Winooski appreciates the service of our veterans to our nation and their continued contributions to our community. No veteran should go un-housed and we are grateful for the hard work that’s happened across our county to end veteran homelessness. The City of Winooski is committed to continuing to support this work ensuring housing security for veterans in need. We hope this model can be expanded to support more residents in need.”
USICH first launched its Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness in 2014. This initiative calls mayors and other state and local leaders to publicly commit to pursuing the goal to ensure that every veteran of the United States Military has a home in the nation that they served. USICH has pursued this national program with support from federal partners, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
Numerous communities throughout the United States have achieved this goal since the program’s inception. To be recognized as having achieved the goal, communities must meet the requirements laid out in the federal Criteria and Benchmarks for Ending Veteran Homelessness, which are intended to help communities drive down the number of veterans experiencing homelessness to as close to zero as possible, while building systems that support long-term, lasting solutions.
Pictured: Canal Street Veterans Housing in Winooski
