Mayor Edwin M. Lee today, joined by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald, announced a major funding milestone to end chronic veteran homelessness in San Francisco by the end of 2015, putting the City on track to meet the President’s Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. In the FY 2015-16 and 2016-17 budget, Mayor Lee will provide funding to acquire the final new supportive housing units needed for San Francisco to accomplish its goal to house all chronically homelessness veterans which will supplement a new approximately $18.3 million funding commitment over the next 10 years from the federal government. This funding announcement is the final budget piece of a multi-year effort to house more than 500 chronically homeless veterans in San Francisco.

“When President Obama challenged Mayors to end homelessness for veterans, San Francisco responded with compassion and conviction. Today’s exciting milestone means that we will have the resources in place to have a roof over every chronically homeless veteran in San Francisco by the end of the year,” said Mayor Lee. “Our work is not done, as we know that every day, more veterans tragically fall into homelessness. But with this stepped up commitment, we are putting systems in place to quickly aid our nation’s heroes who happen to fall on bad times. Working closely together with Federal partners, local non-profit service providers, the business community and small and large property owners, we will continue to ensure that our veterans who have served honorably and made tremendous sacrifices will never find themselves on the streets, living without services and without hope.”

“Nobody in San Francisco should be homeless, least of all the brave men and women who served to keep us safe. It is time for us to step up and meet President Obama’s challenge,” said Board President London Breed. “With this new infusion of funds, federal support, and the united efforts of our local leaders, we can end homelessness for veterans in the City of St. Francis.”

San Francisco defines ending chronic veteran homelessness as ensuring every homeless veteran who can be located is placed in permanent housing or in temporary housing with an identified permanent housing placement. Since the 2013 homeless count, San Francisco has been home to 507 chronically homeless veterans in need of supportive housing. After signing onto the President’s Mayors Challenge in 2014, the City has made tremendous strides toward achieving the goal. In strong partnership with the San Francisco Veteran’s Medical Center (SFVMC), the City has created hundreds of new supportive housing units dedicated to veterans. To do so, Mayor Lee has prioritized for veterans new and existing U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care supported units, and helped lead a Citywide collaboration to issue 200 project-based vouchers in the coming year through the through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Since 2014, this includes $3.1 million in local funding and $4.2 million in federally supported HUD-VASH placements. In the FY 2015-16 and 2016-17 budget, Mayor Lee will provide funding to acquire the final new units needed for San Francisco to accomplish its goal of ending chronic homelessness among veterans.

A successful example of the City’s collaborative work to meet this goal is 250 Kearny Street, a property master-leased by the City dedicated to serving over 130 homeless veterans. 250 Kearny was the product of an innovative collaboration between the City, HUD, SFVMC, the San Francisco Housing Authority, and Swords to Plowshares, and now provides high-quality housing for an additional 130 formerly homeless veterans in a safe neighborhood.

The President’s Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness was launched on June 4, 2014, by a compelling call to action by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to end veteran homelessness in their communities by the end of 2015. Ending homelessness among veterans is a national effort that requires the support of a variety of public and private organizations and agencies at all levels of government. The Mayors Challenge is helping to generate public awareness and attention by increasing learning and information-sharing among stakeholder organizations and communities and by inspiring even greater progress, locally and nationally. The public commitments of mayors are helping to galvanize local efforts and foster more purposeful coordination of resources and strategies for the good of veterans who are homeless and at risk of homelessness.

While San Francisco is on track to meet the President’s Mayors Challenge, this progress does not signal an end to chronic homelessness among veterans in San Francisco. A relatively small number of chronically homeless veterans might live in the community due to turnover, new arrivals in the City, or wait times for housing placement. However, San Francisco now has the resources and systems in place to provide them with the help that they need once they are identified. Mayor Lee is committed to continuing his work with Secretary McDonald, regional civic leaders, and local non-profit actors to ensuring that these vulnerable individuals are quickly recognized and transitioned into permanent housing.

Mayor Lee and Secretary McDonald today also met with regional leaders including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese to discuss regional approaches to ending chronic homelessness among veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area.