On the heels of Veterans Day, the Housing Authority of the City of Aurora (AHA) has received 20 HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers, valued at $108,701, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program combines HUD vouchers and housing case management with VA supportive services to help homeless Veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing.
AHA now administers 137 HUD-VASH vouchers. For the past 10 years, AHA has successfully collaborated with VA Medical Centers (VAMC) to administer the HUD-VASH voucher program. According to the VA, HUD-VASH enrolls the largest number and largest percentage of Veterans among their homeless continuum of care programs.
Program eligibility is first determined by the VA who then refers applicants to AHA. The VASH voucher program is administered the same way as the Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) program; rental assistance is provided by HUD to lease units from private landlords. Private landlords are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the consistency of payments and accountability the high-performing Housing Authority provides and offer their units to Veterans in need.
“Housing homeless Veterans is a priority for us,” said Craig A. Maraschky, executive director at AHA. “Veterans in this program receive case management services from both the VA and AHA; the success of this program though, relies on landlords who rent their units to Vets. Together, we can help homeless Veterans secure stable and permanent housing.”
