JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Hundreds of homeless Veterans in the Tri-Cities region now have permanent housing thanks to the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center (JHQVAMC).
A release from JHQVAMC said the facility provided housing placements to 232 Veterans experiencing homelessness as part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) nationwide goal to house 38,000 Veterans in 2022.
Thanks to JHQVAMC and other VA health care centers’ help, that national goal was surpassed by more than six percent. 40,401 veterans nationwide were assisted with permanent housing placement last year, the release states.
“This goal was achieved through the hard work and dedication of our James H. Quillen VA Medical Center homeless program’s staff, our grantees and contractors and our valued community partners,” said JHQVAMC Medical Center Director Dean B. Borsos.
“The progress we’re seeing with Veteran homelessness in our region shows that we have the right solutions to end homelessness for all Veterans we care for,” he added.
The Johnson City facility, with help from community partners, provided Veterans with houses and apartments to rent or own; many with a subsidy to make payments more affordable. Additionally, the JHQVAMC helped reunite Veterans with family and friends, effectively ending their homelessness, the release said.
“Rural areas tend to have limited housing opportunities and resources,” said JHQVAMC social worker Wilma Davenport. “We overcame that by increasing case conferencing and information sharing to identify new landlords or units that were opening in the area.”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said any vet that is at risk or already experiencing homelessness can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838), and visit the VA Homeless Programs website.
