ICYMI: Senator Murray Announces Major Funding for Washington State Transportation, Housing Priorities in End-of-Year Package – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “Washington state veterans served this country, and it’s on us to make sure they can count on a safe roof over their heads.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced over $2.4 million in funding for eight public housing agencies across Washington state to help homeless veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing. The grants are administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which combines HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance for veterans experiencing homelessness with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Senator Murray helped restart the HUD-VASH Program in 2008 and the grants are funded by the spending package Senator Murray helped to pass last year.
“Washington state veterans served this country, and it’s on us to make sure they can count on a safe roof over their heads,” said Senator Murray. “We know the HUD-VASH program makes a real difference and provides critical stability to some of our most vulnerable veterans and their families. As a voice for Washington state veterans in the Senate, I will continue to fight for HUD-VASH and work to provide our veterans with the housing and social services they need and deserve.”
HUD-VASH grants are designed to help veterans experiencing homelessness and their families find and sustain permanent housing and access health care, mental health treatment, substance use counseling, and more. The grants awarded to Washington state include:
- $520,986 for the Tacoma Housing Authority;
- $26,620 for the Housing Authority of Grays Harbor County;
- $153,314 for the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County;
- $37,643 for the Housing Authority of the City of Bellingham;
- $69,113 for the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority;
- $344,547 for the Housing Authority of Snohomish County;
- $480,708 for the Pierce County Housing Authority;
- $795,165 for the Spokane Housing Authority.
Senator Murray has long fought for federal investments in housing to help veterans and their families keep a roof over their head, and successfully helped to restart the HUD-VASH program in 2008. She helped secure $72.1 billion in discretionary spending for HUD in the end-of-year spending package, including $50 million in additional HUD-VASH vouchers. Earlier this year, Senator Murray called on President Biden to utilize a “whole of government” approach to addressing our nation’s housing needs.
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