National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Senate hearing

U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
“Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: VA’s Progress on its Five-Year Plan”
March 14, 2012

Testimony provided by:

Reverend Scott Rogers
Executive Director
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry
30 Cumberland Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
www.abccm.org

Chairman Patty Murray, Ranking Member Richard Burr, and distinguished members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: It is my honor to present this testimony on behalf of the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (hereafter ABCCM) and on behalf of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) with my friend Mr. John Driscoll, NCHV President and CEO. I want to recognize the other guests in the room who are also concerned about ending homelessness among our veterans.

Introduction

ABCCM has had a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Grant and Per Diem (GPD) contract since 2003. We currently have four Grant and Per Diem programs which encompass 148 homeless men and 10 homeless women (mothers with children) for a total of 158 beds. This makes us the third-largest contractor of Grant and Per Diem services in the nation. Our combined campus facilities of 12.5 acres, with 11 acres for men and 1.5 acres for women, makes us one of the largest facilities for serving homeless veterans in the nation.

Under ABCCM’s umbrella, we offer employment and training services through a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) grant. Last year we placed 201 homeless veterans back into the workforce at an average cost of $1,100 per participant, compared to $2,600 per participant nationally. We were recently honored with being included in the HVRP Best Practices document for the DOL-Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS).
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