VA partnership streamlines Veterans access to care, housing assistance
WASHINGTON – RealEstateRama – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is partnering with customer relationship management company Salesforce to improve access to essential VA services and resources among homeless and at-risk Veterans.
The Status Query and Response System (SQUARES) is a VA web application first created in 2015 to provide external homeless service organizations with reliable and detailed information about Veteran eligibility.
Thanks in part to the VA and Salesforce collaboration, the updated and expanded version of SQUARES lets VA partner organizations easily verify Veterans’ eligibility for VA homeless programs in real-time.
“Providing safe and stable housing to our nation’s Veterans is a department priority,” said VA Executive Director for the Homeless Programs Office Monica Diaz. “The use of SQUARES helps enhance access to VA care and services among Veterans facing housing crises.”
SQUARES has been vital during the COVID-19 pandemic in assisting food pantries, homeless service providers, state agencies, nonprofits and other organizations in swiftly connecting vulnerable Veterans to VA’s homeless prevention, rapid rehousing and wraparound supportive services.
“Providing the backbone for SQUARES demonstrates how the cloud helps the government move faster, extend its impact into the community and connect Veterans who are experiencing homelessness to the benefits they earned while serving our country,” said Dave Rey, president of Salesforce’s global public sector. “More than 2,100 partner organizations — including state Veteran agencies, state and local health and human services groups and nonprofit homeless service providers — are already using SQUARES to provide better care to Veterans across the country.”
VA and Salesforce will convene virtual workshops to educate users about SQUARES and its features. The two will also create videos and case studies to educate registered users and potential new users on how to use the online tool.
Learn more about VA’s homeless programs.
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