The Operation Renewed Hope Foundation presented Gov. Terry McAuliffe with the Northwestern Mutual Award for Improving the Lives of Veteran Families during the foundation’s Five Year Anniversary Awards Ceremony. Operation Renewed Hope has helped more than 500 veterans and their family members find housing. The organization, which serves veterans through job referrals, transportation assistance, and financial management, chose Governor McAuliffe due to his administration’s achievement functionally ending veteran homelessness in the Commonwealth.
“I am so proud to receive this award on behalf of the Virginia civil servants who worked their hearts out functionally ending veteran homelessness in our Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe, speaking at yesterday’s announcement. “Since we made the commitment to end veteran homelessness, Virginia had helped 2,640 veterans find a permanent place to call home. Virginia’s historic progress over the past three years sends a clear message of support to our veterans. And while we can never fully repay the sacrifices they’ve made, we can ensure that any veteran’s experience with homelessness either now or in the future will be rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
In November 2015, Governor McAuliffe announced that Virginia had been certified by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as the first state in the nation to functionally end veteran homelessness. This success stems from new efforts in communities to improve their homelessness response rate and housing assistance systems. Using proven tools to address the needs of individuals, families and veterans experiencing homelessness and incorporating housing first models, such as rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing, communities have streamlined their systems in order to help any Virginian experiencing homelessness quickly secure permanent housing.
“The effort to end Virginia homelessness relied on collaboration at the state level among such partners as the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Virginia Housing Development Authority, Governor’s Coordinating Council on Homelessness,” said John Harvey, Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs.
ORHF’s mission is to provide quality housing and supportive services to our Nation’s homeless veterans. They provide a range of services assisting veterans and breaking their cycle of homelessness or preventing veterans from becoming homeless.
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