Federal funds to help local vets pay rent

LYNN – Fifteen local veterans will receive help paying rent and receive counseling and other services under a program that local officials said will put a dent in but not do away with homelessness among veterans.U.S. Rep. John Tierney, in a statement, said $146,000 in federal Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing awarded to Lynn represents a combined effort by his office, city Veterans Services workers, and the Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development to help veterans.The tax dollars will pay for vouchers to be used by veterans to pay rent on apartments in Lynn or other communities. Veterans with families can apply for the vouchers and eligible veterans will pay up to 30 percent of their income in rent.”The goal is to start the program as soon as possible,” Housing Authority Planning Director Norman Cole said.Veterans Affairs officials in Bedford will help determine who is eligible for the vouchers. Veterans picked to receive vouchers also receive counseling, Veterans Services Director Michael Sweeney said, for physical disabilities, medical and psychological problems, including military service-related stress.”The way we put it is we want to take care of the whole veteran,” Sweeney said.The vouchers “will provide access to case management and clinical services that can help many of these veterans improve and strengthen their health and lives,” stated Tierney.”This the first time Lynn will receive these federal funds,” he added.Cole said information gathered in 2012 on homelessness among veterans found 98 veterans on the North Shore ranging from Rockport to Lynn living in shelters or “transitional housing.”Sweeney said his office is reimbursed with state tax dollars for its efforts to help 140 veterans on average every month meet their needs, including living expenses and medical reimbursements.”When I started working here eight years ago, we were seeing half that number,” he said.Sweeney estimated 30 of those veterans pay a significant amount of their income in rent. He said veterans who need help range from World War II vets to those who returned from Afghanistan and Iraq and have young families.”Our biggest challenge is making sure people at risk of homelessness don’t get to the street,” he said.Sweeney said federal homelessness prevention money helps the Lynn Shelter Association pay for High Street housing that counts 15 veterans among its residents. He said an Essex Street building overseen by Habitat Plus houses 20 veterans.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].