WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced funding to provide rental assistance and clinical services for homeless veterans in Chillicothe as a part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) voucher program.  The program provides housing assistance for homeless veterans while partnering them with a local Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. 

“This rental assistance for homeless veterans in Chillicothe is an important step in honoring the promise to support those who have already given so much to our nation,” Brown said.

The HUD-VASH program in Chillicothe will work in partnership with the Chillicothe Metropolitan Housing Authority to provide rental assistance and the Chillicothe Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to provide medical assistance.  The awarded grant is $128,980, which will provide funds for rental assistance and medical care for 31 project-based vouchers.

As the only Ohio Senator to serve a full term on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Brown continues to work to address issues facing Ohio veterans. Brown served on the veterans’ conference committee to negotiate the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, legislation signed into law August 7, 2014 to ensure accountability at the VA while improving the delivery of health care provided to our nation’s veterans.

Last month, Brown introduced the Mental-health Exposure Military Official Record Act (MEMORy Act), legislation that would ensure that unit commanders document events that individual service members are exposed to which might later be connected to PTS, mTBI, or other injuries.

In response to the disability claims backlog, Brown has helped secure record funds and staffing for the VA to combat the backlog. In November 2013, Brown announced that key provisions of his Veterans Services Outreach (VSO) Act passed the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. The Act would require the VA to notify veterans filing claims electronically that they can receive help and important time-saving information that could significantly reduce their wait time.  In August, Brown announced that he would also work to pass the Claims Processing Improvement Act of 2013, legislation that would hold the VA accountable by requiring it to publically report information on both its projected monthly goals and actual production so that Congress and the public knows if the VA is working toward eliminating its backlog. The bill would also establish a task force to hire and train claims processors, and develop tactics to attack and eliminate the backlog.

In December 2013, Brown announced his support for the Homeless Veterans Prevention Actlegislation that would improve homelessness prevention programs and increase the availability of transitional housing for veterans.

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