$900,000 in Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program grants
announced by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced the awarding of two grants totaling $900,000 to fund services provided by Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Grants of $450,000 each were awarded to Advocates for Human Potential Inc. in Sudbury, Mass., and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans in Washington, D.C. The grants are being awarded through the department's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

"For our returning service members to experience homelessness or difficulty finding a civilian job is unacceptable. As President Obama emphasized in his State of the Union address, we must fulfill our commitment to these brave men and women," Secretary Perez said. "These federal grants will help local partners provide essential services to those who have served in America's armed forces that will ease their transition to civilian life."

Advocates for Human Potential and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans each received grant funding to improve their delivery systems of services provided under existing HVRP grants, including grants that serve homeless female veterans and homeless veterans with families.

The HVRP grants announced today include two cooperative agreements that will develop and maintain the National Veterans Technical Assistance Center. The center provides technical assistance to grantees, potential applicants and the public; researches grantee best practices; conducts employment-related research on homeless veterans; facilitates grantee training sessions and performs outreach to the employer community to increase job opportunities for homeless veterans.

Grantees under the HVRP program network coordinate their efforts with various local, state and federal social service providers. More information on the Department of Labor's unemployment and re-employment programs for veterans can be found at http://www.dol.gov/vets/. For more information on HVRP grants, contact Cassandra Mitchell at 202-693-4570.