ROCKEFELLER, MANCHIN, RAHALL ANNOUNCE RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR VETERANS STRUGGLING WITH HOMELESSNESS

WASHINGTON D.C. – August 27, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, along with Congressman Nick Rahall, today announced more than $105,000 in federal funding to Raleigh County to provide rental assistance for homeless veterans.

“West Virginia’s veterans deserve access to the services they earned and were promised for their bravery and selflessness,” said Rockefeller. “Among the critical support we can provide our veterans, housing services make a difference in veterans’ lives by helping to put a roof above their heads. Giving our heroes the opportunity to achieve reliable, long-term housing security is the least we can do for these men and women who’ve sacrificed so much.”

“Whether it is finding them a place to live or helping them get a good-paying job, we should do all that we can to provide our brave and honorable veterans with the best care and treatment as they return home,” Manchin said. “These courageous Americans have risked their lives in the defense of this country and it is simply unacceptable that many of them do not have a roof over their head. These funds will provide adequate housing to our veterans and their families and will greatly help to eliminate veteran homelessness in West Virginia.”

“While we can never do enough to repay the solemn debt we owe our veterans, we can see to it that those in dire straits are assisted with basic needs like a place to live,” said Rahall, a member of the House Rural Housing Caucus. “This federal funding will assist veterans in making a home and will help make a lasting investment in our community as well.”

The $105,953 in funding for Raleigh County is from a cooperative grant program established under the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA). The HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program helps homeless veterans find housing through a combination of HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance and the VA’s case management and clinical services. The money is distributed to public housing agencies so they can provide long-term housing assistance to vulnerable veterans who have experienced homelessness for extended periods of time.