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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 62 September 2024 J O U R N A L HUD EXPANDS HOUSING ACCESS TO VETS T he U.S. Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new set of policy changes that will help more veterans receive assistance under the HUD-Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program and improve their access to supportive housing developments. Veterans experiencing homelessness often receive VA benefits as a result of an injury or illness that was acquired or worsened during military service. Before this change, these benefits were considered income when determining eligibility for certain supportive housing developments—causing some veterans to exceed the income threshold for these programs. HUD's policy changes will help more homeless veterans with service-connected disability benefits gain access to these housing developments. The VA recently announced that, three-quarters of the way through fiscal year 2024, it has granted benefits to 1.1 million U.S. veterans and their survivors, a record. In total, VA has awarded $137 billion in benefits, including $127 billion in compensation and pension benefits, to veterans and survivors this year. Additionally, HUD awarded $20 million to public housing agencies to continue to improve the HUD-VASH program. "No veteran should ever have to experience homelessness, but when they do, they should not face barriers to getting help they deserve," HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said. "This policy change will ensure that veterans who are receiving the disability benefits they earned through service and sacrifice can access the housing assistance and supportive services they need to resolve their homelessness." Immediate Assistance for Homeless Vets The HUD-VASH Program is a key resource to house veterans experiencing homelessness. HUD-VASH pairs rental assistance through housing vouchers targeted to veterans experiencing home- lessness from HUD with case man- agement and other supportive services provided by VA. VA homeless program staff at local VA medical centers identify veterans experiencing homelessness and refer them to public housing agencies that issue vouchers to eligible veteran and their families. VA staff provide case management and other "wrap-around" supportive services to assist the veter- an household in finding and entering rental housing, retaining housing, and Government connecting to health care, employment, and other supports. "The days of a veteran having to choose between getting the VA benefits they deserve and the housing support they need are finally over," VA Secretary Denis McDonough said. "This is a crit- ical step forward that will help veterans nationwide—and bring us one step clos- er to our ultimate goal of putting an end to Veteran homelessness for good." HUD is expanding access to HUD- VASH for veterans by: » Requiring public housing agencies (PHAs) that administer HUD-VASH to set the initial income eligibility for veterans at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), rather than 50% of AMI. The use of this higher initial in- come eligibility threshold is currently optional and many housing agencies have already adopted the higher threshold, but HUD is now making this increase mandatory. » Adopting an alternative definition of annual income for applicants and participants of the HUD-VASH program that excludes veterans' service-connected disability benefits when determining eligibility. This alternative annual income definition could be adopted by other housing subsidy programs to determine income eligibility. HUD has been working with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to determine the effect of the alternative income defini- tion for HUD-VASH participants seeking housing subsidized by Low-Income Hous- ing Tax Credits (LIHTC). The Treasury Department expects to issue guidance on this issue in the near term. HUD will also encourage state and local governments to make corresponding changes in their sub- sidy programs to ensure that all veterans experiencing homelessness have access to supportive housing. Housing 200,000+ Vets The HUD-VASH program combines HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical