Redmond, OR – July 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Housing Works, the leading affordable housing provider serving the tri-county Central Oregon region, has secured an additional fifteen (15) federally-funded vouchers to aid homeless veterans obtain quality housing.
“These vouchers will improve lives in the most fundamental way – providing safe, clean, permanent, affordable housing for homeless veterans,” said Kenny LaPoint, Housing & Resident Services Director for Housing Works. “Often these vouchers assist entire families. Veterans have given us so much through their service and it’s an honor to be able to return the favor. We want these servicemen and women and their dependents to recover the dignity of having a place to call home.”
The VASH vouchers, which can be redeemed on a monthly basis for rent by those who qualify, are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by Housing Works. Housing Works has a long record of success in advocating for state and federal legislative action to address rural Oregon’s housing needs. In 2011 and 2012, collaboration between Housing Works, Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and U.S. Congressman Walden resulted in the awarding of fifty VASH Vouchers for Central Oregon, for example. The successful implementation of the first round of VASH Vouchers resulted in an additional 10 Vouchers for Central Oregon in 2012. LaPoint estimates that these vouchers will help more than 200 individuals gain homes and get off the streets. He attributes the awarding of the additional vouchers to the effective collaboration that the region’s social service organizations have established over the years. Said LaPoint, “Housing Works, working with the Veterans Administration, Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, ICON City, and private donors, was also able to provide move-in assistance and household furnishings to help meet some basic needs for veterans entering the housing program.”
Housing Works is the leading affordable housing provider in Central Oregon, serving Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties. Since 1977, Housing Works has helped provide housing services to thousands of low-income families as they work to move above the poverty line. Housing Works fulfills its mission, “Fostering Dignity through Housing,” through a variety of housing programs and affiliated Families Forward, HomeQuest and Family Self-Sufficiency programs. Currently, Housing Works serves approximately 2000 households through affordable housing partnerships, grant funding and federal contracts.
