see, we have the federal agency that we can't do at all. they asked and i think we have seen this happening. increasingly. congratulations from last night. you represent in many communities where the most immediate beneficial impact will come from. >> that's a good point about the partnerships. it is an interesting time. there is so much interest right now that a lot of players that weren't there three or four years they are talking with us. we do a range of different types of housing and transitional housing and we have been there for quite sometime. as far as the program, moving into projects such as the hope

manor project such as chicago, the tax credit and housing project that demonstrates the type of cooperation from so many sources. the city in chicago donated the land and nsp land that they had but we got tax credits in our energy grants from the state and company for the solar panels. i think we had eight or nine different levels of financing that even looking at the partners and doing any affordable housing and tax credits, what we are finding now is the financial institutions tend to be the buyer and tax credits are extremely interested in doing veterans housing. that can't the case and i wouldn't say it was about veterans, but you are a housing

project investor for potential investment, they would usually make that one of the lower priorities. we are seeing the philanthropy that john mentioned. our partnership with home depot is fantastic. it allowed us to fix up transitional homes and individual housing and working on the support of housing. i think there is a lot of interest both at the local levels and able to commit or home funds or things like that. the foundations and such, that's been wonderful. i want to point out and it's not without pitfalls in the local communities. we have great support and we are

talking permanent support of housing and individual communities. we have to make sure the deals actually work. >> that's interesting and a bit surprising. if you feel like doing a project for veterans helps with the issue or hinders it or makes it worse? any observations on that? >> we're have two under way and one here in the district and one here in new orleans. that has been part of the strength in the popularity. i guess it depends. >> i guess it would say i'm sure that you know that. it's one of the things you that put in the project plan and you are going to have to address that.

that's primarily going to help veterans to make it more appetizing to a community. it depends on which community you are talking about. veterans and veterans club, there veterans with health issues and need intensive assistance. touch real quickly on the housing needs. if we look at the numbers that va envisioned when they started the five-year plan, they were thinking 90,000 units of permanent housing would probably meet the goal or the definition of ending veteran homelessness is not that they will ever be homeless, but it means that if that happens and you haven't helped me before that happens, there is going to be an access to help somewhere that i can walk in and get it. some folks are always going to

need those intensive neats and the most multifamily units and the developments that you would be able to utilize are low income housing tax credits. that will always be part of your plan. that's going to be necessary for the voters because we can't spread the demand for services out geographically if we can get the providers of the services we need. >> i may take a little bit of issue for that. and the urgency of the past and basically enlisting a housing sector in every community has to be our starting point.

the individuals or veterans will have the services and again people are different. we just have to build the housing. we have to put every bit of our ingenuity and our assets to work to make sure we end homelessness and prevent new veterans from becoming homeless. >> i prefaced my comment with there is that segment of the veteran population that is going to need intensive services and that i believe will necessarily create maybe to an intensive. i am not saying thaw don't want to and i hope you didn't take it out.

between housing cost and service cost, it makes sense. to concentrate the housing units near the services that are available. par r. >> there the models that house people and deliver service to them. that's a big technology that has been developed in the homelessness field for housing first and other things over the past year. i think probably at the end of the day, there will be a mix of people being in the facilities and in the community. that's already past. >> i would like to clarify. the issue is that if you are comparing the permanent support of housing project and that is the veterans, it does increase

if it is the process the family housing with any permanent support of housing ends up with issues there. what you are talking about is the good point. i think models such as our hope manor project which is a heavy service. it's only one of the other areas that i think makes a lot of sense too. keeping with the rental fee is to look at a lot of the reo properties coming out of the financial institutions. the discussions with several about those. i think there opportunities in that situation to be able to take abandoned properties and use resources to fix them up and use them to promote setting situations. conditions there are you can serve them and make sure they have the transportation

services. i think it's a good opportunity. >> one of the things that it's important to know about, we will not end veteran homelessness and we won't end it in california, texas and florida. very disproportionate and you see many of the same communities and counties are unbelievably high levels of foreclosure. we could achieve a profound win-win here. get to our country's goals. reduce the likeliness of homelessness and help make a dent in the reo swamped communities is an important site. the distribution and the point from the 2010 count.

in in california, 8,000 in florida, 5,000 in texas and 6,000 in new york. those are the biggest dates. also with the exception of texas, there is definitely a geographic point to this and opportunity in the geographies and the remainder of the housing market. one of the things around the country with the 100,000 homes, once communities know by name who the veterans are, we see this unbelievable resolve and ingenuity to solve the problem. i really think that seemingly

extraordinary goal that the president is secretary was within our grasp and ending homelessness and so much we can learn in the process to help us prevent new veterans from becoming homeless. >> let's come back in a minute and follow-up. we heard about traditional and housing and the opportunities from reo. what are -- you mentioned universal design as something that seems we have more opportunities for people with disabilities. when i was here in the district on a housing task force, one of the things that was pointed out was that if you needed an accessible unit, it is virtually impossible. there is nowhere to find out where they are.

any thoughts about that? >> the amazing and systemic job of making the systems available around single family homes. it's an apartment building that was not designed to be universally accessible. the notion that we all benefit. given the kinds of experience. the housing communities, having multifamily buildings and affordable buildings that are designed to not call out the need for adapting housing and designed to be accessible and

the hall way with the position and sizes of drones and turning radius and issues. it's more comfortable for anyone. this could be a particularly valuable thing that gets added to our way of thinking about housing. as by product of thinking about the needs of returning veterans who are injured. help us think about the design for everyone. it's a leading edge. >> that's an excellent point and probablyerstood by everybody, but worth pointing out. it's a change in who the veterans are. so much of the building for us and that would be a single male veteran. you may not have had as much lead for a complete universal

design so much just in smaller percentage and what we are seeing with the first look and turning iraqi and afghanistan bets is the higher injury rates. the other thing we are looking at design-wise in the newer properties is building the represental units with children. they have not been something we planned for four or five years ago in the average homeless was potentially a single male from the vietnam era. >> wu certainly hear more about even if the veteran is male, they are being with the family that is very important. support issue. family housing is really becoming more important again off their low-income family. they are thinking about the support for families that are what john was talking about. more in terms of conventional treatment and supports in the

housing. the building is a set up and a larger building that is one bedroom units with the support services there on the ground floor. with the first property, the balance of the units before town houses with two or three bedrooms and four buildings that have four units with them again with multiple bedrooms. and a campus concept with privacy afforded by having the separate buildings. >> let me turn to the programs and we all know that the federal debt and deficit are going to be squeezing programs in general.

what are the key programs for affordable housing and what would they mean in terms of housing veterans and your ability to do that? >> i would rather not have that question. i think we all have been aware that the incredible resourcing that they brought to bear is not going to last forever. they said that everything on the table now will have to be reexamined and there will be flat funding coming up and an appeal to the community business community and housing to become more involved in the local planning.

i think what was exciting to us up to 60,000 units, they will be held as long as they are available and that's a huge departure from the original legislation. the veterans in the units that will lose eligibility. those vouchers will remain available. that's a huge thing. there should not be as long as the funding continues for the have an impact. i agree that there is not a situation between the veteran and nonveteran.

that's what the veteran representation is and the population will be rolled into the subsidized housing or section eight. any number of things that will be scrutinized. i think at that point they have to come up and say of what is the collective voice for housing opportunities for distressed populations with dwindling or limited federal resources. . that kind of worries me. i don't think those become and

that's the resources necessary to be effective. i think we have an important and urgent moment where the country understands without adequate assistance with housing and jobs, we are looking at a problem with people who deserve support. where i think a call to arms around rental housing for people who need it, including veterans. and in the workforce that framing the overall need, we have as a country for affordable housing around the veterans is something we might want to be putting our heads together on.

i always have to plug that. that helps veterans. your numbers are probably anywhere from the senior housing. they are nonveteran specific. they are looking in the budget for years. they have been huge cut backs. and each one of them are looking at potentially the low income housing program as being a solution for it. and that has increased numbers

from supportive housing to the 202 developers and what would be the mainstream developers. what we have seen in the competition for the credits at the state levels, they have been 3-1 or 5-1. that gives properties that are being sponsored as having the flaws. they are all needed. again, competing for the resource under the program that is supposed to be the solution to being able to provide affordable housing. again, what we have seen which is encouraging is a large number of states that prioritize the housing as one of the main priorities. some of them have gone so far as giving additional points for

veterans. louisiana being one of them. there opportunities there for us to focus on veteran housing and be able to obtain credits. it's going to be tough as far as finding the resources. >> if i can look at this real quick, the other thing that i would throw in because i think it reflects on the question as well as some of the response. helping veterans is a bargain if you are pging of expenditure and public assistance funds. what the total policy will be. they have access to services and organizations and help them qualify for benefits packages and some of the financial counseling. there benefits that you earn by being a veteran at the gi bill.

a perfect example even if they doesn't translate into a real increase in your earnings potential. if you are thinking in terms of the housing supports and services, you have support and veterans are actually a lower price. the veterans have access to other assistants. it's less of a lisc in some ways. i wanted to throw that out. >> now i think we will open up the floor to questions. observations, from the audience if you have any. >> come to the mike.

>> the director of the mayor's office. veterans affairs from d.c. i definitely think you hit the target by talking about targeting this at the local level. the last time they passed a resolution, they were in 1974. what we need to do is call a summit of the governors and mayors and executives and nonservice providers and the chaim perof commerce and the local people to target this whole issue. you have less and less elected officials who have a military background. there is a huge education issue that needs to be done. the thing is not going to be

addressed until we get right down to the local neighborhood commission levels. we are actually telling people and putting veteran housing in their back yard. and secondly, i think it's time for dod to take a portion of their budget, maybe 3% and reinvest in the coming home issues for veterans. there is a cost to doing war and they need to be aware of that. a lot of that money that they are spending on war machines, et cetera could be reinvested back in the community. >> there is no one here who would support using dod money to house veterans?

>> i may be reinterpreting, but there is a lot of political and public will at the national level and somewhat less. maybe a little bit less. do you find that to be true? . >> i may be seeing the exceptions where there is a lot of local concern. a real conundrum is no one know who is these veterans are. there is a very strange dita disconnect and the department of defense doesn't alert the mayor or the local da. nothing like that. a group of people are coming back to a community. it thwarts the effort. >> we know the da has not always communicated with community

groups either. >> there questions of privacy. as i would think, the easiest thing to do is with the dod and the va knows who is coming home and it's hard to require them to go out and find these folks and ask them if you have problems and you think you need help with it. i have never seen the inside of a da medical center. so i identify as a veteran. veterans often times stand on their own. it's hard for them to ask for help a lot of times. they do identify. i think it would be proper attic to say to the da everybody who comes out of the department of defense, you have to track down

and make the following. we hear them take a bad knock because they say our doors are open. some feel it's not enough. that's what it's about. trying to find veterans in the public assistance arena. i don't know that there is an easy answer. proper training of troops as they are getting out, these are your benefits. if you start feeling the strains, you need to walk through the door and ask for what's yours. i think we can do a better job without. we are using defenses more than we are. one of the item that is the deputy secretary ruled is the program which was used fairly

successfully last year, but the statutory authority ran out at the end of the year. we had a couple of essence cutoff with the authority that moved forward to the least. there is quite a bit of appropriate out there and buildings that can be depositing. senior housing for veterans and that would eliminate the issues, but provides closer location and similarly with the realignment and excess defense department properties and another potential source. and provide the building and land to provide the resources.