Udall Welcomes Nearly $7 Million Investment in Colorado's Fight to End Veteran Homelessness
Mark Udall, a champion for our veterans, welcomed the news today that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will invest nearly $7 million to help end veteran homelessness in Colorado. Udall said these common-sense competitive grants and rental assistance will help Colorado confront veteran homelessness and better serve veterans across the Centennial State.
"We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. And just as we leave no one behind on the battlefield, we should fight to ensure none of our heroes are left to live on the streets," Udall said. "These competitive grants and vouchers will ensure Colorado nonprofits and housing agencies have the resources they need to confront veteran homelessness in Colorado and keep faith with our nation's sacred duty to our veterans."
Volunteers of America's Colorado branch and Rocky Mountain Human Services will each receive $3 million through the VA's Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program to provide vital services to homeless veterans and support at-risk veterans and their families. Rocky Mountain Human Services is planning to use the funds to build a veteran housing resource center in Colorado Springs to help homeless and at-risk veterans and their families throughout El Paso County. Volunteers of America's Colorado branch will use its competitive grant funds to serve veterans in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program also announced today it will issue $970,000 to 157 Colorado veterans and their families in the form of rental-assistance vouchers.
Udall has championed Colorado veterans' concerns in Congress. He successfully worked to ensure Western Slope veterans had ready access to essential surgical procedures for which they previously had to travel long distances, he pressed the VA Inspector General to investigate employee complaints at the Grand Junction Medical Center, and he has led on congressional oversight of the Aurora VA medical center.