From: SSVF
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2024 3:42 PM
Subject: SSVF Program Update Friday November 1, 2024
This weekly update is targeted
towards the SSVF Grantees and shared with
valuable partners for awareness.
November 1, 2024
NEWS: VA
Housed nearly 40,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness in fiscal year 2024
RESOURCE: SAMHSA
Webinar: Identifying and Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in Encampments
November 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm ET
RESOURCE: SSVF
Veteran Families Incentives Flyer for Landlords
RESOURCE: Homeless
Prevention Services Update for FY25
REMINDER: SSVF
Program Office Learning Management Change: Housing Skills Practice Center
REMINDER: FY23
and Shallow Subsidy Financial End of Year Closeout Due November 15,
2024
REMINDER: Final
Office Hours – FY 2024 Homelessness Goals: November 7, 2024
NEWS: VA Housed nearly
40,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness in fiscal year 2024
The U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs announced it housed 47,925 Veterans experiencing homelessness
in FY 2024, surpassing its goal to house 41,000 Veterans by
16.9% and marking the largest number of Veterans housed in a single year since
FY 2019. VA also ensured that 96% of the Veterans housed during this time did
not return to homelessness. This follows last month’s announcement that VA had surpassed its FY 2024 housing goal a month
early.
We want to thank all
SSVF grantees for the tremendous work you all put into helping towards this
goal. Your dedication to this mission has been an essential part of the
movement and we appreciate all you and your staff do each day. Please share
with your teams and celebrate your hard work!
RESOURCE: SAMHSA
Webinar: Identifying and Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in Encampments
November 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm ET
SAMHSA is hosting a
webinar November 13, 2024, as part of their Homeless and Housing Resource
Center about identifying and addressing behavioral health needs in
encampments. People experiencing homelessness experience higher rates of
behavioral health conditions, and many symptoms can be caused or exacerbated by
their living situations. As communities across the country change how they
respond to and interact with encampments, outreach workers, community health
workers, and peers continue to be essential team members who foster
relationships and trust with encampment residents. These front-line
professionals are often first to notice the onset or changes in behavioral
health symptoms and serve as trusted individuals who can help support a person
across a spectrum of behavioral health needs. This webinar will discuss core
principles and engagement techniques for providers to serve as a bridge to care
for mental health, substance use, and medical needs.
Link to register: Webinar Registration - Zoom
RESOURCE: SSVF Veteran
Families Incentives Flyer for Landlords
The SSVF Program Office
is pleased to announce the development of a SSVF Veteran Families Incentives
Flyer. SSVF Grantees may use this when engaging landlords for rental units.
This flyer provides basic information about SSVF rental assistance and incentives
for landlords and Veterans. This flyer is being distributed to other VA
Homeless Program Office, but it is also recommended this flyer be provided to
your local VAMC partners for awareness of this resource.
NOTE:
There is space on the document to add specific contact information for your
SSVF grant.
Links to flyer:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/SSVF_Veteran_Families_Incentives_Flyer.pdf
RESOURCE: Homeless
Prevention Services Update for FY25
The SSVF Program Office
will be extending the Rapid Rehousing Waiver period to October 1, 2025. This
will allow grantees the flexibility to address the needs identified within
their service area. Despite the shift, Grantees may still be asked to
demonstrate how they will continue to prioritize Veterans experiencing literal
homelessness in their service area, to ensure resources are available for this
priority group.
SSVF’s Homelessness
Prevention (HP) assistance is intended to prevent Veteran families from losing
housing resulting in literal homelessness, it is not an eviction prevention
program. As Veteran households present for HP support, it will be imperative that
grantees conduct intentional Rapid Resolution conversations, as not all who are
losing their current housing will result in homeless. It is important to
explore other safe and appropriate housing options that may be available while
they work on a pathway back to their housing goal. Such Veterans may be
enrolled under Stage 1 under Homelessness Prevention and provided Rapid
Resolution services and supports that would help them avoid literal
homelessness without the need for significant Temporary Financial Assistance.
Per the 2021 HP Companion Guide, Veterans may be enrolled under Stage 1 if they
indicate they anticipate becoming homeless in the next 30 days and grantees can
use Rapid Resolution and services such as legal assistance even if the Veteran
household does not qualify for or need more intensive financial supports.
As a reminder, the SSVF
Program Office released the updated HP screening tool in September of 2021, HP
Screening Tool. The SSVF Program
Office will be reviewing HP Threshold scores submitted with your FY25
Resolution to ensure that all grantees have reviewed and adjusted their scores
to ensure the needs of the community can be met with this extended waiver.
Contact your Regional
Coordinator should you have any questions about this waiver extension.
REMINDER: SSVF Program
Office Learning Management Change: Housing Skills Practice Center
The SSVF Program will
no longer be utilizing the platform that houses the Housing Skills Practice
Center, effective September 1, 2024. After careful consideration and review, we
have decided to transition to an alternative Online Learning Center that we believe
will better align with your current needs and goals.
We want to ensure a
smooth transition, so please take note of the following key dates and actions:
1. **Data Migration**:
All necessary data from the Housing Skills Practice Center will be migrated to
our new system over the coming months. Please click on the link below for
an index of interim resources that can be used to support staff training and onboarding.
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/SSVF_Grantee_Gap_Education_Materials_October_24.docx
This document provides
links to materials that closely align with the learning pathways on the HSPC.
It is recommended that SSVF grantees utilize this resource document until
learning pathways are uploaded to The Online Learning Center.
2. **Support**: Our
team is ready to assist with any questions or concerns you may have during this
transition. Please feel free to reach out to your regional coordinator and/or
TA Team member for assistance.
We appreciate your
understanding and cooperation as we make this transition. If you have any
questions or need further information, specifically about the Housing Skills
Practice Center, please do not hesitate to contact us at ssvf@tacinc.org.
REMINDER: FY23 and
Shallow Subsidy Financial End of Year Closeout Due November 15, 2024
The FY23 and Shallow
Subsidy Financial End of Year Closeouts are due by 11/15/24. Please review the End of Year Closeout Webinar
with detailed instructions for completion using a new format intended to reduce
administrative burden for grantees.
·
Final Drawdown: Incur
expenses by 9/30/24 and complete final drawdown
·
SF-425 Federal
Financial Reports (FFR): Complete, submit, and certify two Final FFRs in the
HHS Payment Management System (PMS); one for FY23 account (zzzz-zz-zzz-23) and
one for Shallow Subsidy account (zzzz-zz-zzzSS).
·
There is a technical
issue with PMS impacting FFRs. At this time, many grantees do not have a
published Final FFR for Shallow Subsidy accounts and we are awaiting
confirmation from PMS administrators that these reports are available for
grantees to complete.
·
In addition, many FFRs
have been published in error (i.e. quarterly, accounts that have not ended yet
like FY24 and Supplemental NOFA, etc.). These FFRs published in error may be
disregarded while we await further guidance from PMS.
Survey Monkey Link:
SSVF Program Office emailed adjusted award amount and a survey monkey link for
each award. The required submissions include certification questions, grantee
report of actual expenditures by category, and variance explanation.
REMINDER: Final Office
Hours – FY 2024 Homelessness Goals: November 7, 2024
The final Fiscal Year
(FY) 2024 Homelessness Goals Office Hours call will be on Thursday, November 7,
2024. This call will provide the final, End-of-Year update on the goal,
highlight exceptional achievements in community-wide permanent housing
placements, and showcase bright-spot communities. The call will also
feature remarks from special guests Denis McDonough, Secretary of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and Dr. Steven Lieberman, Deputy Under
Secretary for Health.
VA staff
and VA-funded grantees should ensure that they have representation on this
call. Other relevant stakeholders (e.g., VA-funded contractors, Continuum of
Care partners, and public housing agency partners) are strongly encouraged to
attend.
These calls
are held at 3:00 p.m. Eastern / 12:00 p.m. Pacific.
Please
forward this reminder as appropriate.
If you need
the ongoing invitation, please email VHA11HPO38kGoalSupport@va.gov.
Access the recordings and slides for previous
calls.
Join from a PC, Mac,
iPad, iPhone, or Android device
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85681601911
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