On May 15th, CSH facilitated a VISN 11 sponsored Homeless Veteran Summit called A Path to Housing in Danville, IL. This Summit brought together VA staff, housing and service providers, and community leaders to discuss progress and to strategize on the topic of ending Veteran homelessness.
Mr. Rivera, the Illiana Health Care System Director (as pictured above), welcomed participants to the Summit and spoke to the importance of collaboration. The program began with an overview and discussion of the Illiana Healthcare System Operational Plan as presented by Rachael Dietkus-Miller, HCHV Program Coordinator for the VA Illiana Health Care System. Participants were asked for their feedback on the plan in order for the VA to gain meaningful community input. This was followed by a series of short panels on topics such as how Continua of Care groups can collaborate to best serve Veteran households, permanent supportive housing, and the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. Later in the day, VA staff members and Veterans Timothy Jobin and Geri Young offered a presentation on employment.  Click here to view this presentation.
In the afternoon, groups formed to plan for a 100 day challenge. Collectively, the group pledged to house 136 homeless Veteran households during this time frame, and each group came up with action steps to take to advance their goals. CSH will provide follow up support for each team.
This was the first of several Summits taking place across VISN 11 in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.
