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DeLauro, Larson, Himes Applaud Over $3.2 Million in Federal Grants to Help End Veterans’ Homelessness

July 12, 2013

Washington — Reps. John B. Larson, Rosa DeLauro, and Jim Himes today applauded the news $3,262,739 in federal grants to help approximately 715 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families in Connecticut. The grants provide funding to local organizations to help prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless and to help re-house those who have recently fallen into homelessness. The Workplace, Inc. in Bridgeport; Community Renewal Team, Inc. in Hartford; and Columbus House, Inc. in New Haven will use the funding to provide a range of services that promote housing stability and play a key role in connecting veterans and their family members to VA services, such as mental health care and other benefits.

"We must honor the sacrifices of our military service members and provide them with the tools they need when they return home," said Larson. "With this funding, Community Renewal Team in Hartford and other organizations will have additional resources to both support these returning service members and help lower the rate of veterans' homelessness in Connecticut and across the nation."

"As a nation, we have an obligation to ensure that, at the very least, the brave men and women who serve our country have a place to call home," DeLauro said. "We have to be sure we are doing everything possible to facilitate the transition from the battlefield back to civilian life. These grants will go a long way towards helping some of those with the most difficulty making the transition."

Himes said, "A safe, decent place to call home is absolutely essential to holding a job and enjoying the American way of life these veterans fought to protect. I applaud the comprehensive nature of this program and am glad to see the Workplace will have more resources to continue its work helping local veterans."

"This new SSVF funding is critical to our efforts in CT toward preventing and ending homelessness for Veterans in our state. We are grateful to Secretary Shinseki for his vision and commitment to reaching these goals. We are proud to serve Veterans and their families across New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties," said Alison Cunningham, Executive Director of Columbus House.

"We are very proud that the Department of Veterans Affairs is expressing confidence in our work over the last two years with nearly 350 Veteran families, and is allowing us to expand from Hartford, Middlesex and New Haven into New London County. We are honored to support those who have served our country," said Lena Rodriguez, President and CEO of Community Renewal Team.

"The Supportive Services for Veteran Families program is a significant component in the suite of services we provide veterans. With our community partners we are working to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless and rapidly re-house those who have recently fallen into homelessness." said Joe Carbone, President and CEO of The WorkPlace. "My sincere gratitude goes to Connecticut congressional delegation for their invaluable support for veteran programs."

The full list of Connecticut awards from the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program is as follows:
  • Community Renewal Team will serve approximately 175 eligible households in Hartford, Middlesex, New London and New Haven counties with their $519,000 award.
  • The Workplace will serve approximately 240 eligible households in Southwest and South Central Connecticut with their $1,256,494 award.
  • Columbus House will serve approximately 300 eligible households in New Haven, New London and Middlesex counties with their $1,487,245 award.

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Issues:Veterans