VA Healthcare-VISN 4
Community News
Community News
Heroes at Heinz Field
This past fall during the 8th annual Heroes at Heinz Field event, approximately 70 Veterans from seven VISN 4 facilities got to catch, kick and throw footballs with the help of current Steelers players. This unique partnership between the Steelers and VA Healthcare - VISN 4 allows both organizations to go beyond their normal function and truly provide attendees with a "hero's welcome."
To see more photos of the event, check out the online photo album.
Serving Homeless Veterans in Urban Areas
Philadelphia among VA facilities participating in 25 Cities Initiative
Since unveiling a comprehensive plan to end homelessness among Veterans, VA has developed a number of initiatives to combat Veteran homelessness, and has made significant progress towards reaching that goal.
One such initiative is called the "25 Cities Initiative." Its objective is to help 25 communities with high concentrations of homeless Veterans throughout the Nation to intensify and integrate their local efforts to end Veteran homelessness. These 25 cities account for more than 40 percent of all homeless Veterans. Philadelphia is one of those cities, the only one within VISN 4.
The initiative, begun in 2014, is a joint effort by VA; the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH); and local governments, housing authorities, and community providers. All these groups work closely together to identify all homeless Veterans in their communities and identify permanent housing solutions for them.
"During a review, we identified communities where we had made a substantial funding investment and were not making sufficient progress," said Vince Kane, Lebanon VA Medical Center's associate director, and the former director of VA's National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. "I asked HUD, 'Why don't we bring community providers and VA providers together in those areas to leverage resources and better target housing and services to Veterans who need them?'"
The Philadelphia VA Medical Center had begun participating in a "boot camp" process, part of the nationwide "100,000 homes" campaign, in 2013.
"We took that effort and refocused it into the 25 Cities initiative," explained Casey McCollum, the medical center's acting homeless coordinator. The group meets regularly to set 100-day goals for reducing homelessness, coordinate efforts, and to monitor progress.
"The initiative has proven to be highly effective," said Kane. "It's taken the boot camp concept to the next level. VA was the leader in this – we developed it, we worked with it, and we rolled it out. Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City are now within reach of ending Veteran homeless."
"We're very excited by the work we are doing, and it is evident in our progress that we will reach our goals," concluded McCollum. "We would never have done it without our partners, however. It's a demonstration of the power of what people working together can really accomplish."
