Northampton, MA Gets $500,000 to Help Homeless Veterans with Housing

By NANCY H. GONTER ngonter@repub.com - The Republican Newsroom - May 13, 2008

NORTHAMPTON, MA - Federal and local officials announced today that nearly $500,000 has been awarded to Northampton to provide subsidized housing vouchers for 70 homeless veterans.

"This fits exactly into what we are trying to do in terms of homelessness in this city," Mayor Mary Clare Higgins said at a press conference at the Northampton Senior Center on Conz Street. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director Taylor Caswell presented Higgins, Northampton Housing Authority Director Jonathan A. Hite and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Director Mary A. Dowling with a check for $487,402.

"This funding will serve a vital need of providing homes and support to those who sacrificed so much while serving our country," Caswell said. Caswell praised the cooperation between the city of Northampton, the Housing Authority and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Part of new HUD housing program

The money is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's new Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, passed by Congress at the end of last year, which will provide $2.5 million statewide and assist 245 homeless veterans across the state. In Northampton, the Housing Authority will award the vouchers, with the process starting as soon as next week, and veterans will receive the services they need through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds.

They may be used in any community in Western Massachusetts to rent privately-owned housing. "We want to go back and say 'Here's how it's done in Western Massachusetts. Let's use this as a model,'" Caswell said. Steven E. Como, executive vice president of Soldier On, which operates homeless shelters for veterans at the Medical Center, said there are 145 homeless veterans now at the shelters, some of whom may be referred to this program.

Unlike traditional "Section 8" housing vouchers which set income limits and bar anyone who has had a substance abuse or criminal history, these vouchers will be more flexible, taking in the needs of veterans who are homeless, Como said. 'A tremendous gift' John F. Downing, president of Soldier On which is also building 39 units of housing for veterans in Pittsfield, said these vouchers are a "tremendous gift" to veterans.

"In a capitalistic society, if you have a place to call your own, you feel you can change and you feel you can build a future," Downing said.

Downing said that as a group, veterans are three times more likely than others to be homeless.

"This is a moment of great home for our work and a moment of great dignity for the people we serve," Downing said.