Employee Spotlight
November 23, 2021
Lindsey Marano
Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program Coordinator
Central Virginia VA Healthcare System
Richmond, VA
Q: How long have you been employed by VA?
A: I’ve worked at VA for 11 years in different capacities at 3 different VAMCs and transitioned into my current role as HUD-VASH program coordinator in the summer of 2018.
Q: Tell us about your job at VA. Describe a few of your duties and how long you have been in this.
A: As HUD-VASH program coordinator, my focus when I first joined the team 3 years ago was to develop effective, efficient program processes and structures, and to train and support the staff to ensure high quality clinical care for Veterans. As the team solidified those processes, my focus shifted to providing ongoing clinical and administrative support, managing the workflow and ensuring compliance to program standards. I also carry a small caseload of Veterans for case management, which helps me to keep a pulse on challenges facing our frontline staff and possible solutions.
In April of 2021, I was afforded a detail opportunity in the National HUD-VASH Program Office as a program specialist to assist with special projects related to recent legislative changes. I have primarily focused on increasing support for HUD-VASH contracting, not only with sites that already contract, but also with new sites that will be required to start contracting due to aspects of the 2021 Megabus legislation.
Q: How do you help to prevent and end Veteran homelessness? Are these actions connected to your work at VA or independent of it? How many Veterans do you think have been impacted by your contributions?
A: Our HUD-VASH program serves roughly 400 Veterans every year. I feel fortunate that, every day, I get to see the tangible results of our team’s efforts to prevent and end Veteran homelessness. On the front end of the program, we collaborate closely with community partners to ensure continuity of care for Veterans with the most challenges. We have developed a pre-engagement process run by our senior social workers that transitions newly admitted Veterans quickly and effectively into our program. I maintain regular communication with the staff, who go to great lengths to manage the many aspects of engaging Veterans. From obtaining vital documents necessary for housing choice voucher referrals, to treatment planning, to assessing the Veteran on an ongoing basis to gain a thorough understanding of clinical need, I have found that the pre-engagement process facilitates more effective team and case management assignment and fosters Veterans’ increased success in the program.
Once a Veteran is in our program and housed, our HUD-VASH team makes every effort to prevent returns to homelessness. This requires a great deal of communication among team members. Team leads facilitate daily huddles and staff communicate throughout the day as issues arise with Veterans on their team to quickly respond to urgent needs. For more in-depth clinical review of challenging cases, all staff participate in monthly team meetings with our HUD-SUD coordinator, our HUD-VASH nurse and me. These meetings allow us to gain a more in-depth clinical understanding of Veteran challenges, anticipate potential housing problems or evictions and collaboratively develop action plans to proactively link Veterans to services that will help them maintain stable housing. Since the team has implemented these meetings, we have seen our negative exit rate drop by more than half in the first year.
Q: Tell us about what inspired you to become involved in helping to end Veteran homelessness.
A: I have always been passionate about serving the most vulnerable Veterans with chronic mental health and substance use issues through high quality clinical care. Early in my career, I recognized that my work with these Veterans had the potential to impact all aspects of their lives. Prior to joining HUD-VASH, I was working as a front-line social worker in the Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP). This introduced me to HUD-VASH as some of my Veterans were participants in it. This broadened my understanding of the importance of stable housing for recovery.
My transition from SARRTP to HUD-VASH seemed natural, as there is quite a bit of overlap in the population served, and the mission was central to my background and passion. The professional goal remains the same: to ensure high quality clinical care to complex, vulnerable Veterans. I am grateful that within VA, there are so many avenues to achieve that goal. As HUD-VASH program coordinator, I focus on establishing efficient processes and providing training and supporting to our amazing team, so they can provide the very best clinical care.
Q: Tell us about the greatest challenge you faced in your efforts to end Veteran homelessness and how you overcame it.
A: In a word? COVID-19. In March of 2020, we were celebrating our successful CARF review when field visits were grounded indefinitely. The program, our processes, staff and Veterans had previously relied on our ability to do community-based work. We had to quickly restructure amidst the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic. I always have relied on the staff to identify challenges in the field and quickly communicate the concern. They count on me to help problem solve and remove systemic barriers that delay Veteran care. I am so proud of the team’s ability to adapt to ever-changing processes as new guidance and information about COVID-19 evolved, and how they continued to serve Veterans during a scary, unknown time.
Q: What advice would you give to other VA employees who are interested in helping homeless and at-risk Veterans?
A: Be ready to work hard and be flexible enough to adjust to anything. This work can be challenging, but the rewards are immeasurable. The impact on Veterans’ lives is far-reaching and it is so satisfying to be a part of bringing dignity and humanity back into the lives of Veterans experiencing homelessness.
Q: What else would you like us to know about your efforts to end Veteran homelessness?
A: The job is never done. There will always be an opportunity to expand or improve services to Veterans in HUD-VASH. I am proud to be a part of such a dynamic program with a highly skilled team that adapts to the changing landscape surrounding Veterans experiencing homelessness. I’m grateful to the program support structure of HUD-VASH, beginning with my program supervisor and service-line chief, medical center leadership, as well as Veterans Integrated Service Network and VA Central Office leadership.
