National

Tribes awarded $5.9M to combat homelessness among veterans

Friday, January 8, 2016

Ho-Chunk Nation officials in Wisconsin cut the ribbon on the Ho-Chunk Veterans Supportive Housing Project on June 18, 2015,. Photo from Facebook

The Obama administration on Friday announced $5.9 million in grants to combat homelessness among American Indian and Alaska Native veterans.

The money marks the first time that the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program will benefit Indian Country. The 26 tribal recipients will be able to meet the specific needs of their warriors by providing them with rental vouchers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and services from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Cabinet officials said.

"Expanding HUD-VASH to Native communities will help our nation honor the service and the sacrifice of these brave Americans," HUD Secretary Julian Castro said on a conference call from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he met with the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes.

"Targeting HUD-VASH vouchers to veterans living on tribal lands opens new opportunities for helping Native American veterans exit homelessness as quickly as possible" VA Secretary Robert McDonald added in a press release.

Veterans open the Apsaalooke Warriors Complex in Crow Agency, Montana on September 1, 2015. The Crow Nation help fund the 15-unit facility by selling tax credits. Photo from Crow Nation News / Facebook

According to HUD and VA, the $5.9 million will enable tribes to assist 500 veterans. Awards range from $391,740 to the Association of Village Council Presidents in Alaska, a grant that will help 20 veterans in a state with high living costs, to $123,288 for Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, whose leaders plan to house 10 veterans.

"There's no one set amount that is being given to each tribe -- it's based on the number of homeless veterans," Castro said on the call.

In Oklahoma -- the state with the second-largest number of Native Americans -- five tribes received grants. Three went to members of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, whose leaders are wrapping up their winter meeting on Friday afternoon.

"We applaud Secretary Castro for coming to Oklahoma and addressing our tribal governments on an issue that is important for us," Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker said in a press release. "The partnership between HUD and the VA will ensure our Cherokee patriots get the assistance they need after serving our country. Cherokee Nation is striving to do more and provide more for our military men and women."

Leaders of the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, from left: Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, Seminole Nation Chief Leonard M. Harjo, Muscogee Nation Chief James Floyd, Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton and Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker. Photo from Chief Bill J. Baker / Twitter

The tribe's grant of $194,405 will assist 20 warriors. Gary Cooper, the director of the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, said eligible participants are being identified.

“This is 20 families we can help that may not have had assistance before, and a demonstration project that once we prove is a good idea for Indian Country, will be around longer and can hopefully benefit more tribes," Cooper said.

The Obama administration has been focusing on reducing homelessness among veterans across the nation since 2010. According to Secretary McDonald, the homelessness rate has dropped 36 percent in the last five years.

Tribes have been doing their part even without federal assistance. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin opened a $1.5 million, 11,000-square-foot housing facility for veterans last June. The Crow Tribe of Montana dedicated a $2 million apartment complex for veterans in September.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also finalized a new new regulation that will allow tribes to factor in their veterans when seeking funds from the Housing Improvement Program.

The full list of tribes that received awards under the Tribal HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (Tribal HUD-VASH) Program follows:

State	Tribe	City	Amount	# of Veterans to be Housed
Alaska	Cook Inlet Housing Authority	Anchorage	$313,058	20
	Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority	Juneau	$324,749	20
	The Association of Village Council Presidents Regional Housing Authority	Bethel	$391,740	20
Arizona	Navajo Housing Authority	Window Rock	$268,835	20
	Hopi Housing Authority	Polacca	$210,432	15
	San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona	San Carlos	$233,100	15
	Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona	Sells	$302,936	20
Minnesota	Leech Lake Housing Authority	Cass Lake	$159,022	20
	White Earth Reservation Housing Authority	White Earth	$142,980	20
Montana	Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana	Browning	$229,171	20
New Mexico	Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico	Zuni	$123,288	10
North Carolina	Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina	Pembroke	$185,604	20
North Dakota	Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians	Belcourt	$173,942	20
	Standing Rock Housing Authority	Fort Yates	$234,178	20
Oklahoma	Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma	Tahlequah	$194,405	20
	Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes	Concho	$272,016	20
	Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma	Hugo	$246,992	20
	Osage Nation of Oklahoma	Pawhuska	$265,438	20
	Muscogee(Creek) Nation, Oklahoma	Okmulgee	$216,566	20
Oregon	Warm Springs Housing Authority	Warm Springs	$240,237	20
South Dakota	Ogala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota	Pine Ridge	$190,898	20
	Sicangu Wicoti Awayankapi (Rosebud)	Rosebud	$183,011	20
Washington	Yakama Nation Housing Authority	Wapato	$145,283	20
	Spokane Indian Housing Authority	Spokane	$245,809	20
	Colville Indian Housing Authority	Nespelem	$179,892	20
Wisconsin	Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin	Oneida	$204,934	20
		TOTAL:	$5,878,516	500