Housing Authority working to get vouchers for vets

LYNN – Fifteen local veterans will get help obtaining housing and other services they need under a plan being assembled by city housing and veterans service officials.Veterans can contact the federal Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Bedford to obtain initial information on the vouchers. They are available for rental housing with the veteran paying 30 percent of his or her income in rent with the voucher covering the rest.Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development Planning Director Norman Cole said the vouchers do not have to be used to rent local apartments. He said surveys conducted at the start of the year estimated 100 North Shore veterans live in homeless shelters, temporary housing or “on the street.” He did not know how many live in Lynn.?Our goal is to get people housed and keep people housed,” Cole said.Cole on Tuesday said the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers combine housing with services, including help Iraq and Afghan war veterans need.Cole said federal Department of Veterans Affairs workers worked with LHAND, U.S. Rep. John Tierney?s aides and city Veterans Services Director Michael Sweeney to secure the 15 vouchers.?The idea is to move people into better, more solid living situations,” Sweeney said.Vietnam veteran John Sacherski said veterans returning from military service need jobs and additional help as well as a place to live and additional help.?A lot of kids coming back need to see a psychiatrist. They have mind problems,” Sacherski said.The Swampscott resident and commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1240 said guarantees by employers to hold jobs for veterans performing military service are not always honored.?Vets have called me and said, ?I?ve waited four months for services, I?m living off my parents,?” Sacherski said.Sweeney said an estimated 1,200 veterans are homeless in Massachusetts. He is not sure how many live in Lynn but said Veterans Services has worked for years with LHAND to aid veterans.Cole said local housing workers already coordinate some services used by veterans. LHAND Director Charles Gaeta said veterans returning from military service to the city need different types of assistance in addition to housing.?The service piece is a key component we feel we can do better,” Gaeta said.Sweeney agreed and said the veterans housing vouchers include support services linking veterans to Veterans Affairs health care and a social worker who can get veterans help for physical disabilities, mental health and substance abuse needs.?Some veterans are coming home with a myriad of issues they need to address. They need to get back on their feet and start building their lives,” Sweeney, an Army veteran, said.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].