Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano today announced that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) have declared the end of the Veteran housing crisis on Long Island.
The USICH, which includes Federal representatives from HUD and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, notified Nassau and Suffolk Counties of their success in ensuring that every Veteran on Long Island has a home. The Mangano administration established 60 homes on Mitchel Field, as well as five two-bedroom townhouses in Hempstead, to provide affordable housing for Veterans and active-duty military personnel, and their families. Together with community partners, immediate housing is available for any homeless veteran in-need.
“Since taking office in 2010, my administration has made it a top priority to honor our Veterans and active-duty military who are serving our nation here and abroad,” said County Executive Mangano. “Along with my partners in government, we have ensured that every homeless Veteran seeking shelter on Long Island has been housed, and that any Veteran or active-duty military personnel who may be in need in the future will receive immediate shelter.”
In June of 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama issued a “Mayor’s Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness,” encouraging municipalities from across the country to pool their resources in hopes of reaching this goal. As of today, over 880 leaders have joined the challenge, and more than 2 dozen communities and 2 entire states have met the goal. Nassau County submitted an application to the USICH, touting the County’s efforts to end Veteran homelessness, and after careful review, the USICH approved the application and confirmed that Nassau County, through the partnership of its various departments and the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, have effectively ended Veteran homelessness.
Nassau County’s success in meeting this goal was assisted by investments made by the United States Congress, and the partnership between HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, on a joint program called HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH). This program provides a rental subsidy along with supportive services for Veterans in need. To date, nearly 80,000 vouchers have been awarded and more than 104,000 homeless Veterans have been served through the HUD-VASH program.
“Thank you for your commitment to ending Veteran homelessness,” said Matthew Doherty, executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. “We are confident that the infrastructure and systems you have built will ensure that any Veteran experiencing a housing crisis in the region will get the support they need to quickly obtain a permanent home.”
Several veterans-oriented programs of the Nassau County Department of Social Services, the Veterans Service Agency and the Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities further support the availability of immediate shelter, longterm housing, employment and counseling services for veterans.
Since taking office, County Executive Mangano has enhanced services for Nassau’s 100,000 veterans, including establishing 42 homes, located on Mitchel Field, to provide affordable housing for veterans and their families and an additional 18 homes for active-duty military personnel. Additionally, the county helped rehabilitate five two-bedroom townhouses in Hempstead for homeless veterans and their families. The county also provides free transportation to the Northport VA Hospital and the East Meadow Clinic.
If you know a veteran in need of housing assistance, please call 516-227-7471 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or call 516-573-8626 at all other times including evenings and weekends.
