this is the social sort of system. at that time feudal system. and then others like slave. so the caste system. which is the feudal system. so feudal system changed. now these certain sort of controversial aspects of religion with the feudal system. now time comes they must change. so for that, the politicians saw even governments cannot do much. the spiritual leader should come out. tell them. according to hindu. all comes from same. creator.

so then that spiritual leaders should come out. not condemned in their own rituals, some prayer. this is not. must come out. education people about this caste system is outtadated. so i told them. they arrange such meeting. then i'm ready to come. i told them. so like that. so these -- see, the causal aspect, all this ine1lpçó egalitarian. >> amongst the action, about 100 action.

the authorities. with himself an exception. [ laughter ] . follow of w3him. you see, [ inaudible ]ñi rules action. >> certain types of rituals that need to be performed as part of life.t( no single person has the authority to -- the right has to be performed collectively. >> of course, not too long. that's why there's some -- feminist from thewfñ --xdxd

[ inaudible ] they have authority.çó i have no authority. onlywcruztaçóñi it as some international --e1q we have no [ speaking foreignçó language ] >> partt( of the problem witha5 organization for women is one requirement is that the senior be a nun herself. because that difficulty in tibet, the institution of the full order nation of womenq wer never established. in order to address that, it needs to be a much moree1

collectiveok consensus among th mowt( nasticq establishment. >> i have the authority. iw3 use the authority.fá appeared in india. the nunnery should starti] seris study. we're agreeing toe1ñiñr give highest -- >> translator: doctrine in divinity. >> the other thing, ifolp -- if osei quality fore1 female and male. we come together. the monk should be first.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> there's a hierarchy.q even egalitarian opportunity for both mençó and women fort(?; or dination. because of the hierarchy, there might be the nun may be seen i terms of?; hierarchy, the nune1 will be lor compared to a junior monk. >> these things -- maybe time r @&hc% change like that. for example, my own case, thefá [ inaudible ] 2011, i totallyctired. not only myself retired. buti]q alsofá tradition,qq

[ inaudible ] >> you're describingxd a proces of change that is only sive way that creates the bottom up we learnlpçó a lot how to build successful sustained peace. it also takes time.e1 one of the questioners for youth.e1 from the international student exchange.

how do you keepc youth leaders.k how do youe1 encourage them to t becomeq discouraged? >> with experience, when you tp individuallyqñie1 or small grouu meet more people, this is a worldwide -- [ inaudible ]ok

different place, different continent. moree1 meeting. quite often meeting. if possible, annually. that gives them encouragement >> we have at( wonderful questi from someone fromxd nigerialplp asks how do we ask religious leaders to encourage youth? i remember you commented that many conferences happen around the world. oftentimes, they release doves andoke1 disturb theñr doves.!u howw3 do we turn that into the action that you're urging us to focus on?e1fájfi]

many years ago -- religiouslp conference and not just male conference. at the lpbeginning, of course, leaders say -- maket(ñi some statement. then some scholars, some secondary of the leadership spend more days and seriousfáok discussion andçó exchange e1ind experience, tradition, can live together.ñi then build axd pilgrimage to different holy places within india.çó i started that practice sincee1 1975.t(ñi when time available [ inaudible ]

alsot( with [ ifpdible ] andq [ inaudible ]çó and also [ inaudible ]xd i want to share my own experience. small statueñi of mary. so we sit together. a fewe1 christians and some of living.e1 i turne1 to the beautiful statu. it's smilingfác towards me. i'm buddhist and a studente1 of

the masters likee1 [ inaudible ] and also [ speaking foreign language ]i]( >> lot of discussions about those -- i'm afá student.e1 yet,ñiok it is fact. billion christians there. billion muslims there. millions of people get inspiration, benefit fromñi the tradition.i]ñi over last 2,000 i]years. this tradition is innerqçó peac like that.ñi

i practice that.q showed me -- [ inaudible ] [ cindiscernible ]lp india live together, thousand years. we have to work and make clear. i wish someb. urban countries. some hard liner muslims should be invited.t(xdqfinçfáe1e1

>>t(i]e1e1e1 >>. [ inaudible ]xd this area. i haveko [ inaudible ] together. there are many5a traditions. you p,e1seeyo sit together. eat, see.

like that.çóe1 sometimes,t(e1 you see, people because of different faith distance. that creates some [ inaudible ]e1e1 some & so that word will not have much. mute.c touch each other.fáe1t( thenfá make friend. then we can discuss. settle differences. some similarities. so remain -- i think lotfá of

lot of problemñie1 in middle ea. from america,xd from destinatio. because of september 11ñilpth e. i love president bush as a human being. wonderful person. since our first meeting, we've become6m very close friend. after crisis, ie1 told himfá i you. some of [ inaudible ] . i have e1reservation. he smiled. i think the practical level isx the american force. americans are the majore1 power

yes? can crash. but american major power cannot change other's mind or emotion. only through friendship, through affection then can change their mind. as in one example, tibet is also. hard liner chinese officials they believe in the power of gun.t( suppress.e1 cannot change. only --

>> nothing else. you seexd discuss and you see disunity. what a benefit. distance, what benefit. b&ñdejue1 more fear. makee1 friend. friendship. on the business of -? this person and ofe1 the human siste.

i'mjf one of the human brother. we are same. according to the religion,fá we all children of god.i]e1fá basically, we are same. but this feeling and try to implement as much as you can. seminar, not one lecture but group discussion. what is the benefit? no benefit. eventually impossible one religious group go to mars, one

religious group go to moon and then we find some other places, go this. then okay, we fight here and go different planet. that's impossible. we have to live on this small planet. so much better live horm o harmoniously, happily, sense of brotherhood, sisterhood. so there's no other choice. you see, other tradition impossible to eliminate. we have to live together. religious interfaith service friendly expressing one religious, for example, the christian or 1 billion. cannot eliminate over 1 billion muslim. either muslim cannot eliminate that. we have to live together.

that's the reality. much happier. these bloodsheds, these things. and when we saw television, political killing and particularly those children, women facing starvation. they are our brothers, our sisters. it's impossible. indifferent. we have to as a human being, as a social animal. they are happy, we also feel happy. they're suffering, we also feel suffering. uncomfortable. so no matter we can achieve or

not mentally, we have to think seriously and make effort. whether it's you or not, that's a different question. everybody here, all the -- everybody here and not only here, eventually have to die. then reflect also our life. you made some sort of positive attempt. then you feel happy. if you spend your life more destructively, then at that moment you will really feel regret or unhappy. and then also as a person who really carry life, more compassionate, more sense of helping other people, saving other people.

then when that person passed away, then more people regret and also pray. so that's nice. other hand, if you carry your life, bully other people, cheating other people, like, that then that come people who knows you, then they feel very happy now that it's over, no longer, very happy. so what do you want when you pass away, more people concerned you're dead or happy? what do you want? at least i want -- you see, when i pass away that more people

remember me and at least some prayer and i feel happy. than somebody when i die or my death say oh, now that trouble maker now no longer, oh, how go good, how nice. >> little possibility of that. so thank you, my brother, sisters. we all have no matter, you see -- there are differences. some can do more. some can do less. but we all -- we are part of the humanity. we are part of human society. then particularly in america. i always consider this nation is nation of leading nations of free world. so you can really make some significant contribution for

better world. first you yourself, your own place, you should create certain sort of positive thing. then other people getting the more attractions, inspiration, like that. so please, think serious ly at whatever way you can do, please implement these into practice, into action like that. okay. >> your holiness -- >> do you agree? then the african sister, one time in soweto in south africa i visit one african family. then i told, i express that now

south africa, now already get democratic constitution and democratic election and nelson mandela, you see, become the president. wonderful. now emotionally it take time to change. now the black people they say develop confidence and work hard. then one of the guests told me, oh, we black people, brain level inferior. i thought and i argue no. if you ask brain specialist any differences of brain due to different color, the doctor, specialist, the scientist will say no differences. then my own experience is

sometimes some discriminations, some hard-line chinese officials is make some discrimination. but we, only question of opportunity. opportunity come. we all can be equal, like that. so i explain, explain, explain. then final ly that native africn they would sigh. >> with deep sighs. >> and he respond to me, now he convinced we are equal. but that woman i felt tremendous reli relief. at least i helped, i changed one person's attitude. self-confidence is very essential. so please work hard. some people say black people --

so you also you see accept that -- it's totally wrong. we are same human being. so therefore, with full self-confidence work hard. that's very important. okay. [ applause ] >> thank you, your holiness. i want to thank everybody for coming today. our deepest gratitude for joining us today, your holiness. we have an audacious mission of envisioning a world without violent conflict. sometimes people say this is crazy talk. you've given us hope and encouragement to continue to pursue this very bold and audacious vision, and we thank

everybody here for your continuing support, engagement, and work on this pathway. i want to just conclude by noting that we're 100 days out from the international day of peace on september 21st and i encourage everybody to join in in taking action, moving toward the international day of peace and making it every day. thank you once again. thank you, everybody. [ applause ] >> now international day of peace i think should create a whole one year, then whole -- >> century. >> whole decade. then whole centery. >> yes. with your encouragement. [ applause ] >> without pay. >> thank you, everybody.

>> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until the official party departs. >> thank you. see you again.

[ room noise ] >> the opportunity to meet such young people. so i wish more opportunity.

so i have the opportunity to see mo more. the democratic party's platform committee is holding a forum in phoenix to hear testimony on what should be included in the party's platform ahead of next month's democratic national convention. the platform committee is meeting saturday at noon eastern, and you can see that

live on our companion network, c-span. and then sunday on c-span conservative activist steve lon gann and bob vander plaats on the 2016 presidential campaign. both were supporters of ted cruz before donald trump clinched the republican nomination. newsmakers is sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> known as the center of the county music industry, this weekend the c-span cities tour hosted by our comcast cable partners explores the history and literary culture of tennessee state capital nashville. on book tv author and historian david ewing talks about his forthcoming back "the history of the ryman auditorium" detailing how this nashville venue became a place for civil rights events and political rallies and was the former home of the grand ole opry. >> the civil rights movement was very important in nashville,

tennessee. a few blocks from here young students from fisk university, tennessee a & i, now tennessee state university, all did the lunch counter sit-ins, including congressman john lewis. they got arrested here. they challenged the system of what was going on in nashville, tennessee in the conscience of the country. >> and on american history tv visit the hermitage, andrew jackson's home from 1804 until his death in 1845 and learn about the property's history and how the home grew from a two-story log cabin into a presidential residence on par with mount vernon and monticello. and then tour the dylan, cash, and the nashville cats exhibit at the country music hall of fame and museum. co-curators michael gray and pete finney talk about the relationship between 1960s folk music icon bob dylan and country music star johnny cash. the political clash between the two music genres and how with the help of nashville's talented musicians known as the nashville cats the music helped bridge political differences.

>> their friendship together had a lot to do with changing perceptions of nashville, bringing a lot of rock and roll people here. the establishment of nashville, the political, financial and social establishment in nashville didn't really even accept country music. there were a lot of people that would like to have pretended that the grand ole opry wasn't here, that what they saw as the hayseeds, sort of rubes, people in overalls. you can imagine the '60s counterkushlt when there's divisions between the sort of long-haired hippie culture if you will that was coming out at the time and more conservative elements. >> watch the c-span cities tour saturday at noon eastern on c-span 2's book tv and sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span 3. with the political primary season over c-span's road to the white house takes you to this summer's political conventions. watch the republican national convention starting july 18th

with live coverage from cleveland. >> so we'll be going into the convention no matter what happens, and i think we're going to go in so strong. >> reporter: and watch the democratic national convention starting july 25th. with live coverage from philadelphia. >> let's go forward. let's win the nomination. and in july let's return as a unified party! >> and then we take our fight for social, economy, racial and environmental justice to philadelph philadelphia, pennsylvania. >> every minute of the republican and democratic party's national conventions on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. labor secretary tom perez was among the speakers at the 2016 annual meeting of the national coalition for homeless veterans. he talked about his department's efforts to train and find jobs for unemployed veterans.

we'll also hear from representatives of the veterans affairs department, home depot, citibank, and the governor of virginia, terry mcauliffe. >> good morning. ooh, that got quiet fast. hi, everyone. welcome to washington. whoo-hoo. all right. took advantage of the coffee this morning, i see. good. my name's baylee crohn. i'm the director of the national coalition for homeless veterans. i've seen a lot of familiar faces over the last day. i know because you guys have prevented me from doing things like getting to the bathroom. but it's great to see you. but i'm curious. who's here for the very first time? whoa! [ applause ] well, i want to welcome you to the nchv family. we're like that weird aunt.

so just bear with us. i hope you're ready for a slightly w50i8d ride. for those of you who have been here for once or twice or, you know, 25 times, you know that we have a little tradition we like to do to kick off things this morning. sometimes it involves pink floyd. but this year he even dressed up and wore a suit for us. pretty exciting. todd doctor. i'm going to ask him to come up and give us our opening prayer today. >> yes, ladies and gentlemen, my luggage did come in this year. last year i was wearing a pink floyd shirt. the reverend doing a prayer in the pink floyd shirt. how awesome is that? i do have a suit. i'm switched things. i'm from down in the new orleans area. one thing we say in new orleans is laissez les bon temps roulez. let the good times rule. i hope you have a good time in washington, d.c., get some good information to take back home to serve our nation's veterans. and i'm just gad to be here. thank you, baylee, for asking me

to come up. so let's pray and open this up. shall we do that? heavenly father, thank you for this gathering, and i pray that you would bless and protect all of us during this time. also, thank you for all of our dear brothers and sisters who are serving our homeless veterans. help us to restore honor because they fought for us and we will fight for them. in jesus' name i pray, amen. thank you. thank you, baylee. >> thank you, todd. now, if you have a suspicion that our conference is a bit unique, well, i'm guessing we've covered some of those suspicions and we will over the next couple of days. just you wait. we've got a good one planned for you. before i get started, i want to make sure you all know some of the brains behind this conference and nchv in general. because for those of you who know me well you know it's not me. my team sibdy borden, kurt enniss, anna kaminsky, our

intern kayla, randy brown and josh stewart who has disappeared, i just want to thank you guys for all the hard work you've done. [ applause ] really this couldn't come together without you, and i know we're all running on very minimal sleep and a little bit of whiskey. it's good. not today. not yet. it's 5:00 somewhere but not yet. i also want to say a big thank you to our major corporate sponsors in this effort, the home depot foundation and our major financial institution sponsor citi community development. without your support this event truly couldn't happen. so you all want to thank them as well. [ applause ] . because of their support we try to keep the registration fees as low as possible. they don't even cover costs but we do that to make sure all of you guys get here. and actually, we sold out about a month early this year. it was the earliest for us ever. so if you're one of those people -- i know, that's great. [ applause ]

so if you waited until the last minute, don't do it next year because if you e-mail me i'm not going to feel sorry for you. you've been warned. but in all seriousness, we really thank you for your leadership and your partnership throughout the year, not just at the conference. i also want to thank our other sponsors, tack, jericho project, n.e.f., american g.i. form, enbop, swords to plowing shares for your. and my board of directors for your vision and guidance. i just appreciate you guys and all the work leading up to the conference. [ applause ] now, before you hear from the people you actually want to hear from this morning i'm going to talk for a few minutes about some things that have been pretty heavy on my mind leading up to the conference, and i think you're going to see them resonate here. so let me start off with a quick story about a big surprise. it's about running. so those of you who know me well know the only thing i talk about more than my nephew, my job, and my dislike of bryce harper of

the washington nationals -- go braves. he's the worst. anyway. i digress. is running. i talk about it all the time. so last week i went out to run. and i'm so disappointed you all can't see this because it actually closed down yesterday. but i go for a run. it's nighttime. it's in the rain. it just sucks. i didn't have a plan on where i was going. and i've got my head lamp on and i'm just unhappy because it's raining and i'm running and i should be not doing those things. so i found myself down by the lincoln memorial, which that one hasn't gone anywhere, fyi. but i passed by this temporary memorial called the sworts to plow shares bell to youer. has anyone seen this traveling thing? just me. look it up. the google and their facebook page have lots of interesting information on it. it's described as a, and i quote, 24-foot-tall tower covered with silver wind-blown bricks made with recycled cans dedicated to healing the moral injury of war. now, i don't normally stop

running, especially when it's raining, but i did because this caught my attention. so i walked around this tower in that deep muddy grass and i read the names and messages that were etched into the aluminum. so right here in the midst of the greatness of all these monuments in the nation's capital was this testament to the impermanent lives impacted by war. every inscription was both strong and painfully fleeting. and they were both intimately personal and empowering in their publicness. so if i wasn't supposed to do this, i definitely didn't. but if it's legal, i got out my keys and i wrote in a blank space, "for e.c. and m.c.," the initials of my grandfather, korean war veteran and my father, air force veteran, the same one who -- is sandy miller here? where are you, sandy? she's going to make fun of me. she's back there. i'm going to start to cry and she's going to make fun of me for the next five years like she

did last time. so last year i told but my dad, who for the last 25 years has been present in uncounted moments of darkness with poor and homeless people in culver city as a culver city fireman. and he just last year finally told me you know, i believe in the light you people bring to veterans who are homeless. it was huge for me. so i was struck by this dynamic, this tension i felt at that temporary memorial between these moments of connection that we have that are very deeply personal and this big vast continuum of moments that make up a human story. it was at the same time as big as it gets, these abstract ideas about moving the mark, the arc of moral justice, and as granular as it gets. the moments of fleeting connection between people that remind us we all have value. our currency here is these impermanent modes that positively impact veterans who are homeless in their most vulnerable times. moments that drive forward and propel our movement. so let's talk, you and i, just

for a moment about our movement. because i've been hearing your worries and your fears and your concerns about where we go now that the va's five-year plan has ended. we're actually devoting this entire conference to looking at where we are and defining this new era. when general shinseki moved the needle by declaring we would no longer simply maintain but now end veteran homelessness, our whole collective mission shifted. when he said let's do it by the end of 2015, some of us thought he was crazy. but it gave our work a needed sense of urgency. so we had a deadline now, right? we had an end game and we needed to start working backwards. the u.s. interagency council on homelessness helped to operationalize this plan within the context of all homelessness. don't agree with everything our federal partners say and do. they might say i disagree with mostly everything.

sorry, guys. but i think we can all say without a doubt that this period of resourcing is without precedent and a testament to their dedication to ending homelessness for veterans. v.a. wasn't alone in this. hud, department of labor, agencies across the federal government were invested heavily. so what have we learned? a couple of things. investing in systems is essential. so is local leadership. helping veterans find housing that they can maintain requires a full spectrum of housing resources depending on what someone chooses and what they need. master lists are a great idea. mayors and local officials can't help. income improves housing stability. these just a couple parts that we learned. and over the next couple of days you're going to learn about a lot more. so the end of 2015 came and v.a.'s five-year plan ended. the objective, ending homelessness for each and every veteran who needs us, was always more important than any

deadline. what it did was harness some energy, build unstoppable momentum, and show the whole country that we can end homelessness for veterans. this phase in our collective plan to end homelessness for veterans was essential, but it's not an all-encompassing one. who here has ever had to get a bit creative in helping a veteran with their program going beyond what the local v.a. resources have? if you don't raise your hand, i'm disappointed in you. harnessing my constantly disappointed mother. right there. all right. listen -- getting personal. so the movement that we embody in this room, we cared when no one else did. we grew and we pushed back when veterans were not adequately served by other systems. now the stone the builders rejected has become the cornersto cornersto cornerstone. the movement we built and build every day to end homelessness for veterans sets up models of change to end homelessness for all people. it includes but is bigger than

the v.a. and the federal agencies. so the v.a.'s five-year plan, the federal strategic streejtd plan, various technical assistance and training initiatives, all with different acronyms i'm sure we all know and love, the mayor's challenge, these are incredibly powerful steps responsible for unprecedented growth and resourcing and improvement in systems. but that's not all they are. they're also methods for quantifying and explaining the granularity of the moments that make up your every day. these are tools in your toolbox. they are parts of our movement. built with powerful parts and partners yet greater than the sum of those parts. so how is it greater? let's go back to basics again. the theme of our conference this year. back to a new beginning informed by what we've learned so far. back to those granular moments of connection between people. back to what i felt maybe if it was legal, if not i didn't do

it, putting my grandpa's initials into that monument because since he passed i miss those moments. sandy, don't watch. and i hope that our work here is under his watchful eyes. so that granularity, the moments that make up a movement, it's why we're here this morning and this whole week. it's deeply personal to all of us. so here's what i'm going to ask of you over the next couple of days, the token three things, right? talk, listen, deepen. if you're new, a lot of you are, and you're quiet. i'm doubting very many of you are. make a point to share something new with a colleague. it's okay if it gets personal. share a moment of connection you've had with a veteran that's been meaningful for you and that helps that veteran. and let others in that room help you unpack what it means for the wider community. listen, if you're used to

talking, i know some of you are, bear witness to those moments. when you want to talk, stop, hear. try to learn something new. hear the passion that drives all of us, including our federal agency partners who are here in force this year. deepen. toss out or away some of that heavy burden i know we all carry to make some mental space for something new, exciting, and powerful. those are the three charges that i leave you with. speaking of someone who does something powerful, i'm going to ask our first real speaker to come up and talk to you guys for a little while. i'm going to ask shannon gerber with the home depot foundation to join me. how many people have had an involvement with or have been impacted positively by the home depot foundation and team depot? [ applause ] shannon and the home depot foundation are fabulous partners that have invested over $130

million in affordable housing resources for veterans who are homeless. their impact on this movement is unstoppable. and we're so excited to have them as a partner. shannon, let me go ahead and get your slides. [ applause ]c [ applause ]xd >> good morning,fá jfeverybody. >> good morning. >> i'll quickly give you a little bit of background on me. i'm shannon gerber and i have the privilege of leading the home depot team. slides. i am not going to be able to speakxdxd to these. . those are steve's t(slides. >> love orange. orange all the time. perfect. >> make it up, shannon, that is how we roll. >> we're all good. ypeyñ perfect. as ij/ said, i amñilp privilege lead the home depot foundation team, just to give yo9 background, i've been with home

depot for almost 14 years now and have seen theçó amazingñi w thatçóçó you and the foundatione done, so when we shiftedñi our focus backxd in 2011 on veteran it was very personal for me, both my grandfatherslxqerved in korea, myñi stepfather it was a navy seal in thefá vietnam war d my step brother has been active the last 22 years as a leader in the u.s.e1 marine corps. so over the last seven months sinceçó i've been this role, i have fully immersed o and ole, i have fully immersed receive this great work andñi i so exl9+of all of the lives so exl9+of all of the lives that y$moi so let's talk about whatlp we'v done together. so over the last five years, we've çóinvested overw3 $138 min in veteran e1t(related causes, building and improvingñi 25,000 272,000 teamñ;deposá

volunteers but ourlp foundationn team depotxd -- [ applause ] >> but our foundation in team depot have not done this alone and we know that. we've done this withq 3,800 of the non-profit partners and so we want to say thank you very much for all that you have done. we're able to do what we do and we do it with and because of you. our team depot volunteers work through non-profit partners. our communities and the dollars partners toñr allow you you do 9m9"tqi ut thank you for the pet you serv$4ñ the work you do, an the support that you have for the veteran community. so i would like for you to give yourselves a round of applause,d

majorçó corporateçó sponsor asñ the bigfá annuallp events but t pester them repeatedly throughout the year with all of

r(t&háhp &hc% to thankfáxd them for their longxd standing support od nchv as we think about what the spaceqçó means for the communit agencies that areqó[t(w3 evolvi betteri] meet vetcans needs. i want to talk to natalie some words.nú come upñi her%ñá [ applause ] .

and i am incredibly honored to be here among you today and this is the 5th year in a row that we have been here andlp it is a significantly larger crowd with energy,lp and lots more momentu so we're really happy toñi be pt of this movement and always humbled by the work that you çó, that you do in your communities, you do day in and day out. bailey referenced mye1 colleagu fareed who will be here for the rest of the conference and i to work at citi, compared to running and working in a not for profjsy i applaud you inçó all of the wk perfectñi example of how great e work is+++$6gy

mcauliffe. we applaud him as well. so you know, i don't know what you did on memorial day but where i'm from in new york, it j rainingçó so what does a family do over the long weekend

and i realize that is the vision. a home withw3 dignity, safe and comfort. and that has really shaped our work herejf and hast( really sof guided usok as to how we are shaping citi salutes whichq is our corporate wide initiative at "q)%9ñ executsd(s. theñiñiok employees, and from a the divisions and how they've tried to focus on trying to make sure that ourxd commitment to t military and veteran community is outw3 there. zçó work with servicexde1 organizations in ar of housing, entrepreneurship,

financial resilience and employment and today i'm really because no oneq knowsçót( better than t room because on any given night there, is still nearly 50,000 homeless veterans whoxd are sleeping on the streets in america andqc that is a sad statistic and a sad state of affairs. we want to doxd our part and on of the things that weçó initial did is to partner with localxd initiative support corporation and the nationalxd equity fund the bring them home initiative )ut provides predevelopment fundçó fort+rxd transitional support, temporary and perm independent housing for veterans, service members and families and since the lpw3 inception, the initiative has helped to create 30 developments in sa hundred units of supportive housingñi for homele veterans. saying how terrific it has been

to partner with debbieq burkhardt. we know this work is messy. it is not a simple grant, a simple finance and a building is built. it really is veryt(xdñiok messy you have to haveoágññi the pati. you have to have the fortitude, and you have to have theçó righ guidance to make that work. and so through bring them çóhom, we've been able to support some interesting projects like newçó beginnings in chicago to provid residents and now veterans like maryç garza have access to programs that help veterans reintegrate into communities.d]ó in the bronx, qcáa los +angeles, philadelphia, washington d.c., denver, long island, and more.w3i]

philanthropy helps but let me be clear, given the size of the taskha+ead of us, ending veteran neither the responsibility of ñó way we will ensure the nation's veterans have the shelter and dignity they deserve. government is vital but a partner that does not always get q-q%=9 is the private sector. i put to you allx> in short,ñi when business, policy and community interests i'm fortunate enough to work in a company that does this kind of work extremely well.q

citi community capital is the arm of citi that handles construction and deals and my partner addressed you on this issue. citi has an entire departmentú

veterans are onfá permanent or some form of transitional housing at theq organizations land marklq7ç building on court 9m this makes it one ofç the largt resourcesfá centers for veteran. this facility also not only does that busá it has ñrmultiple, multiple services. it has supportive housing,q wor for employment, work for computer training, work for lp i]achieve. anotheri] example is home manne three bedrooms and again, families are in three bedrooms. i p when you're doing this kind ofç work. they added a 3 million line of credit and the litax equity under the debt equity partner

debbieñr as the fundñi manager. but we're getting it fádone. 1ñt( real estate owned properties to service organizations for rehabilitation and repurposesing, the donated properties can become home ownership opportunities for veterans and their families. açó special program is administered by purple heart homes,e1 an organization founde by two young veterans wounded in iraq. the organization provides safe, affordable and modified homes to service connected disabled veterans and it helpsi] older veterans age in place by homes to make it possible for themq toi] live there. before i close my remarks today, i want to make one final observation. while housing is critical and is the foundationlp for xdçóstabil employment isñr equally importa

and also paves the pqt0 toh0ár% ul&ancial resilience, so once r(t&háhp &hc% and you have a job, then you can stable and resilient. based on that premise, one of the other things that city hasç been invest saeg añi program calledñr clear point reconnect which is a webxd based financia education curriculum to assist military families facing money [ partnership with leading organizations such as iava, mi,$úp)y corporate network and operation home çó and again, it is a way to provide quality education to provide and make sure that a veteran and their family is capable of managing money and achieving what we all want to achieve which is economic security. so, these examples show how we can end homelessness and provide meaningful new starts as we pool

our collective resources, expertise and relationship and for the sake of the veterans and the country on a whole, we really must do this and do this more than ever before. so thank you and really enjoy the rest of the conference. i know i will. >> good morning. our next speaker is beverly ebersol. beverly has extensive experience building local partnerships to end veteran homelessness. she's held leadership positions in support of housing development and service design. beverly spent six years with the corporation for supportive housing and before that she was the program director of something i think may of you may

know, piquette square in detroit. for the past four years, beverly has been with the u.s. interagency council on homelessness first as a regional coordinator and now director of national initiatives. ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce beverly ebersol. [ applause ] thank you. >> thanks. thank you, chick, and thank you so much, bailey, for inviting me this morning and to speak today and for everything that you do. the list is extensive. i think she's running around here somewhere right now. but appreciate her -- oh, there you are. right in front of me. the list is extensive and appreciate your leadership and work. good morning, everyone.

the crowd is big and goes way back. this is so exciting to see so many faces and i'm excited to get to spend sometime with you over the next few days. my personal -- i won't kind of move to the tears but if bailey cries i'll go with that. i'll cry, too. it's something i can do pretty easy. but i do come from a long line of family members where military service is steeped on both my side and my husband's side as part of our family tradition. so, on behalf of all of us, at the u.s. interagency council on homelessness, i'm delighted to be here with you this morning. i'm particularly speaking with my colleagues who are in the room this morning and several of them who are enroute and will be joining us for the conference over the next couple of days. i believe katie jennings who works with my team and sarah

lynn, our chief of staff might be in the room. if you guys are, give a wave or a -- all right. i see way in the back there. we're really thrilled to have them here, as well, and to to be a resource to you as far as our federal partnership. so we're looking forward to spending the next couple of days with you and soaking in the passion for this work that all of you do. i'm also very thrilled and honored to be sharing the dias this morning with so many of our critical partners. shannon and natalie and the entire philanthropic community, as well. steve peck from u.s. vets, governor mcauliffe, secretary deputy gibson and secretary perez. it's an honor to be speaking with all of you today. there are so many -- these are the people who are absolutely committed to ending veteran homelessness in this country. their leadership is a constant source of inspiration to me and to all of us at usich as we do

this incredibly hard work together. let me tell you, make no mistake. this work is incredibly hard. i know that the theme of the conference is building blocks of a post-era plan. but let me tell you, we are anything but post-plan at usich. we are absolutely in the thick of it. we are driving hard to achieve all the goals of opening doors, including fully achieving the goal of ending veteran homelessness. and we're taking the lessons learned from the progress on veteran homelessness to help drive greater progress on ending all homelessness. particularly those of us at usich who work out in the communities with all of you. so those of you who don't know usich for me very well that

matter, let me just explain. the u.s. interagency council on homelessness is made up of 19 federal agencys that are committed to and are relentlessly working toward the goals of opening doors. agencies like the september of veterans affairs and did department of labor along with hud, hhs and the department of education, our shared goals to end homelessness among veterans, among families, among youth and among those experiencing chronic homelessness. and among all americans. i have 17 colleagues at usich. we're a small but mighty federal agency. so some of my colleagues are responsible for driving action in washington so that federal agencies and our national partners are aligned to achieve those goals of opening doors. but what some of you may not

know, there are five of us out in the field. and we're working to support your efforts in communities across the country. as the director of national initiatives, i'm lucky enough and fortunate enough to head that team and little bit about me. my home is in detroit. i know that there were some detroiters that i saw that were attending. any detroiters in the house? whoo! all right. i see you guys. so, sorry. got my detroit roots just come out. but one of the things i want to say ant detroit and people who know me know i like to talk a lot about detroit, azumi hometown, but one thing i think that's important and hopefully my colleagues from detroit who are in the room agree that folks in detroit know the spirit and the focus it takes to tackle what can seem like insurmountable challenges so, you know, i think we're used to focusing on those things and we constantly look to those

challenges and opportunities and we're creating change in our city every day. little bit more about my team. a huge focus of my team's work right now is to help every community understand and take action on what it will take to end veteran homelessness. so that every community in america has a system in place to make sure that homelessness among veterans is rare, brief and nonrecuring. to make sure that homelessness among veterans is rare, brief and nonrecuring. it's a big job. it's a huge job. and there's no way we could accomplish it without strong leadership across all of our 19 member agencies. deputy secretary gibson and the team at the va have been working hard to ensure that the different va programs can be knitted together into an efficient housing first system in your communities.

secretary perez serves as usich's council chair's last year and he asia hen team are continuing to drive stronger connections between work force systems and homelessness service systems. part of my work as usich is to lead the interagency process through which communities can be confirmed for achieving the goal of ending veteran homelessness. i do this in close partnership with my colleagues at the va and at hud. so, kind of want to get a show of hands if people, do you know of how many communities have been confirmed for ending veteran homelessness? want to see if there's any kind of guesses, i don't want governor macauliffe to answer this one. any guesses? [ inaudible ] okay. here's some shouting around the room. we have actually confirmed two

states. virginia and connecticut. [ applause ] whoo! and we've confirmed 26 communities. and so what i would like to do, how many of you are from one of those communities or states and kind of give ourselves another round of applause? let's see show of hands, too. see some folks over there. great. i think your leadership and the work that you're doing inspires us, as well. all to kind of continue to work towards this goal. and while i want to say is we don't think of it as a race but i would be remiss if i did not mention of those two states, virginia got there first. and governor macauliffe's leadership and urgent focus on the goal was vital to that success. three of our confirmed

communities, san antonio, houston and philadelphia -- houston's in the house. they're all in the top ten largest cities in the country. so if they can do it, we know everyone can do it. through the confirmation process, i have to say we have learned a lot about what successful communities are doing right to achieve the criteria and benchmarks. so want to share a little bit of that with you today. first and foremost, they have really strong partnerships across the community. including the coc working closely with the va, private shelters, community service providers. those partnerships are key for building and tracking realtime lists of veterans experiencing homelessness in the communities. a strong, active list is something that also has been critical in successful

communities. another thing that we're seeing in successful communities is their ability to move people quickly through the system. this starts with great outreach, low barrier shelters and permanent housing options available for veterans. of course, as we're doing this work, one of the things i have to say and i think you have heard us at the federal level say, we've never ended homelessness before and we're doing it now. there's people who are actually doing this and it is actually people believe that we can achieve this goal. but one of the thing this is's really important as we're doing this work together that we're still learning and sharpening our thinking around this and so we actually really are looking forward to talking to you about your thoughts over the next couple of days and i want to plant a couple of things we' a'

grappling with. first of all, some things for you guys to think about and ponder at some of the sessions is, how long does a system have to be working well before we can say it has successfully ended homelessness? second, how do we continue to align all of our programs, including transitional housing, to create low barrier housing first approaches across our entire system? and third, how do we make sure that each community system is robust enough so that it continues to perform well over time? and so that we can sustain our progress next week, next month, next year and into the future? answering these questions requires a lot more hard work. i'm in this business, in this work to end homelessness once and for all. i think and know that people in the room are, too. and i'm really hoping that over

the next few days this can help us get all better at the work we're doing and help us achieve the goal together. so again, thank you for the opportunity on behalf of usich. it's great to be here. [ applause ] >> before i begin the introduction of our next speaker, let me just take a second to talk about something that's coming up today, this morning. during the members meeting. i know a lot of folks don't necessarily stick around for the members meeting but this year it's really worthwhile to do it

so let me build a little bit on what beverly was talking about. we're beyond 2015 and much has been learned. by you. much has been done. and there's still challenges as beverly has alluded to with the questions. so let's capture your experience. when's working? when's not working? and what's needed? remember that nchv is your voice. so your insights are going to help nchv inform its policy in the future so i ask you to attend the issue table discussions, the board members are involved in that and i think you will find that they're very, very good narrative example of where we need to go, where we have been and so forth. our next speaker is robert snider, the chief of staff of

the department of veterans affairs. i know that your program says it's sloan gibson. the deputy secretary was going to be here. sloan was unfortunately delayed on travel and beyond his control was not able to make it. but we're very lucky to have bob snider here. he is the chief of staff as i mentioned. he servels as -- before he became the chief of staff, he served as the executive director of the my va task force which i think some of you have heard about. he also led the largest organizational transformation in the department's history which is my va. mr. snider joined the department of veterans affairs in june 2009. he was appointed the executive director of the va dod collaboration service where he saw the development of joint policies and programs between the va and defense. and that is a union that the government has been working on for sometime and it really is

important. he's also a career military officer, army. thank you. mr. snider served as a field artillery officer in various operational assignments. he was also on the faculty of west point and he's also served as strategic advise tore the chief of staff of the army and also the office of the secretary of defense. so, ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce bob snider, the chief of staff of the department of veterans affairs. [ applause ] welcome, sir. >> thank you very much. >> you bet. >> well, good morning, everyone. i know that deputy secretary gibson's disatonighted that he couldn't be here this morning. he had a field hearing in wisconsin and the flight got

canceled last night. but i'm honored to be able to pinch hit in his stead and he does send his best regards this morning. just a couple more notes about myself if you'll indulge me just a little bit. my dad was world war ii veteran. he was a tech sergeant in the army air corps at that time. my father-in-law was an artilleryman. landed at normandy. was wounded about 40 days later. my brother, older brother, is a vietnam veteran. he was in cambodia when president nixon was on tv saying no u.s. troops in cambodia. i'm a 1981 graduate of west point. served as mentioned a little over 26 years in the army and then my son is a 2014 graduate of west point and he is currently a cavalry squadron platoon leader serving in

afghanistan. i tell you these things because veterans issues are personal to me as they are to all of you. and as they are to the vast majority of the employees at the department of veterans affairs. we at va, all veterans and everyone united in this noble effort to end veteran homelessness owe a great deal to the national coalition for homeless veterans. to bailey and the board members, thank you very much for everything that you're doing. [ applause ] thank you for being a great partner in our common fight to end homelessness amongst veterans. i know this is the biggest conference yet and that's a great sign. as we continue our work, we have to continue to grow. continue to bring new partners to the table and look to partners we may never have considered before. organizational objectives may

vary from nonprofits to for profits to governmental agencies at the federal, state and local levels. but there are countless innovative and creative ways to bring myrrh add resources to help veterans who are homeless. i'm talking about collaboration which is going to be the main point of my talk. collaboration. we hear that word a lot. so much that some might imagine genuine, productive collaboration is an easy task. it is not. candidly, when we really start looking at collaboration, we often worry. we worry that collaboration with an organization with goals different than ours might interfere with our work. we worry that it might interfere with fund raising. we worry that our organization might lose some of its own notoriety. but there's something we can all agree on. the interests of those we're serving must take presence dent over the interests of any

organization if we're talking seriously about serving veterans. collaboration dictates that we do what is best for those we serve, service members, veterans and their families. and as we push to extend collaboration with other organizations, organizational sen trick paradigms start to break down. suddenly it is not about your organization anymore. suddenly you realize that doing best for those we serve will be the best for your organization over the long term. and you have to take a leap of faith sometimes. those initial efforts at collaboration may not be perfect. but they're so rewarding. think about how authentic that is for you and your organization. think about the authenticity of being grounded in the difference you make for those you serve. if you focus on what's best for the people you're serving then

the world really is your oyster. we can accomplish things for veterans beyond our wildest imagination. most of you heard jim collins, an expert in on organizational growth. he wrote good to great and the social sectors. one of the things jim talks about is engine that drives the nonprofit world. and the private sector, he explains, there are universal metrics like earning per share and return on equity so you can attract capital. but in the nonprofit world, brand reputation is what matters most. think of this as a virtuous cycle. you get some resources. you go and do good things with those resources. people learn that you did good things with those resources so they give you more. and you start working that virtuous cycle. but how do you measure that? how do you evaluate it all? well, think about processes like

this. inputs, activity, output, outcomes, impact. let me repeat that. inputs, activity, output, outcomes, impact. we're pretty good, comfortable measures what we do with regard to input and activity. how many hours we put this. how much money have we spent. how many grants have we awarded. but the further you go toward the end of the spectrum of outcome and impact the harder it is to measure but it's the outcomes, it's the impact, those are the very elements we need to focus on. outcomes and impact. that's what where we get to authenticity and the difference we make for those we serve. some examples. outcome. veteran homelessness down by 36% since 2010. outcome, a nearly 50% drop in unsheltered homeless veterans.

outcome, more than 360,000 veterans and their family members permanently housed rapidly rehoused or prevented from falling into homelessness. outcome, new orleans became the first major city to end homeless in december 2014. outcome, 26 communities in 2 states and counting have achieved an effective end to veteran homelessness as an indication of how fast progress is being made, my notes this morning before 24. so i'm happy to hear that it's 26. virginia's one of those two states as we talked about this morning. you will hear from the governor in a few minutes. those are outcomes. now let's talk about impacts. impact, a family getting their father back after his combat experience in afghanistan and iraq racked him with ptsd and ended in jail and homelessness.

that veteran, rudy, is now working on the batch already of arts and social work and reports that life with his family is the best it's ever been. impact, children proud of their dad who went from serving his country to sleeping in cars. but now has a job, a home and hope. that veteran lonnie has been setting the example at his new job so now his company is hiring more formerly homeless veterans. impact, after nearly 20 years of homelessness, a veteran working again at a good job, smiling, laughing and being a productive citizen. for veteran and her family, thanks to hud and ssvf, homelessness avoided, a home of their own and a future helping other yvette rans succeed in their education. impact, 130 of the most vulnerable and chronically

homeless veterans living in a with veterans with wrap around services on site at ed lee envegss housing with services, it is the way forward. and all that is not thanks to va. it is thanks to you and thousands of others like you concentrating on outcomes and impacts for veterans. because i've been at va a while, seven years, in fact, i find it's instructive to think about what the federal government looks like from the outside. it's instructive for me to think about what the american people should expect of government. they should expect governmental departments working collabora collaborateively rather than functioning as silos. federal agencies working with states and county in true intergovernmental collaboration. processes engaging nongovernmental organizations and the private sector in meaningful, private/public partnerships. programs tackling significant challenges and providing appropriate support to those

among us in the greatest need, goals and objectives based on measurable outcomes for those we serve. sustained effort and progress reported year by year against those outcomes. in my view, those are characteristics of good government or what deputy secretary gibson calls best in class collaboration. we're talking about bringing a functional end to veteran homelessness. best in collaboration means engagement across service providers, law enforcement, prisons and jails, hospitals, libraries and job centers. we're talking about coordinated grassroots outreach, agencies working together to proactively speak out veterans needing assistance. think about this challenge. good jobs are fundamental to ending and preventing veteran homelessness. when's the answer? collaboration. last year, the overall veteran unemployment rate was lowest in

eight years at 4.6% nor veterans compared to 5.2% for nonveterans. that downward trend's continuing. april's veteran unemployment rate under 4%. you'll hear from secretary of labor tom perez in a bit. the secretary and the department of labor is a principle federal partner and helping end veteran homelessness. they're helping make a tremendous difference. each year across the country the department of labor provides employment and training services to veterans at 2,500 american job centers or hhcs. last year, hhcs served nearly 1 million veterans. hhcs are funded by the department of labor and administered by state level work force investment boards. they're operated by local communities. they're examples of best in class collaboration. think about another challenge.

inconsiders ration and veteran homelessness often go hand in hand. what's the answer? collaboration. veteran treatment courts are helping communities break the cycle of homelessness and incarceration. as veteran justice outreach specialist loretta explains, it's really a community coming together to support the court, to support the veteran. they work closely with organizations, with va homeless staff, with mental health programs, with veteran service organizations, with veteran mentors and many others. in 2009, there were only four or five of these courts. today, there are over 400. over the last six years, veteran justice outreach specialists served over 120,000 justice involved veterans. more than 46,000 in 2015 alone. the proof of goodness in the collaboration is veteran outcomes. two thirds of veterans before veteran treatment courts

successfully complete treatment regimens. they experience 88% reduction in arrests and a 30% increase in stable housing in the year after. another challenge. in tough housing markets where there's a shortage of safe, affordable housing, alone hud vash doesn't make it. one more time, what's the answer? collaboration. i'm talking about some real roll up your slooefrs kind of work and determination. that's what happened in san francisco over the course of about a year and a half. best in collaboration amongst plow shares, mayor ed lee, the housing authority and human services authority, housing urban development and the folks at san francisco va medical center. they took a derelict hotel, a liability and an eyesore for the community and transformed it into an affordable, safe, attractive housing for 130 homeless veterans.

homes for heroes at 250 kearney street in the heart of the city's financial district. that's taking the housing first mod toll the next step. that's truly example of what's possible when people work together, partner, collaborate and innovate. could i ask a few folks to stand from swords of plow shares in san francisco, michael. leon winston. tramesha. are they here? [ applause ] megan owens fought at san francisco human services agency. san francisco va health care system hud vash director. and denitsa. any of these folks here?

very good. [ applause ] thank you very much for that innovative effort. there are many more stories like that out there and i would encourage you to tell them, share them. the people that benefit from those stories are other veterans. tell those stories. organizational change is always necessary. it's about staying relevant in a rapidly changing world. it's about tailoring practices to the evolving changes of the people you serve. at va, we have the transformational change in the history. it's about putting the needs, expectations 0 and interests of veterans and their families first. so we're looking at va from the veterans perspective, from the perspective of those we serve. we call that transformation my va. that includes five strategies. the first two strategies are improving the veteran experience and improving the employee

experience. those two go together because you don't get one without the other. number three is achieving support services excellence. four is establishing a dull chur of continuous culture improvement. number five is enhancing strategic partnerships. that last strategy enhancing strategic partnerships is fundamental to our discussion today. strengthening strategic partnerships is grounded in a sense of authentic humility. we can't do it by ourselves. we need help. in fact, i've learned that there are at least three areas, at least three, where i don't believe any organization can meet the challenge on its own. one is mental health. one is career transition. and the third is veteran homelessness. that's why the work of shannon gerber and the generosity of the home depot foundation is so important. thank you very much for the announcement made this morning. that's why natalie abamarco and

city development is so important. that close? [ laughter ] shannon, natalie, thank you for your work and for setting an example for businesses across the country. it's going to take some best in class collaboration to finish the job of creating coordinated system to ensure there's no wrong door for veterans seeking help. it's going to take some best in class collaboration to set concrete and ambitious monthly and quarterly goals for helping veterans get back into housing. it's going to take some best in class collaboration to ensure shelter is immediately available to any veteran experiencing unsheltered homelessness, to make sure every community has the resources, plans and system capacity in place should any veteran become homeless or at risk. and to identify by name all veterans experiencing homelessness and share that list

across systems so that not even one falls through the cracks. that's what people like make ware at the erie va medical center and his partners in the erie continuum of care are all about. they're using the homeless operations management and evaluation system or homes assessment form for bidirectional data sharing on homeless veterans. is mike here? there's mike. [ applause ] tomorrow mike will share the best practice in detail to apply it across the country. to bring functional end to veteran homelessness takes great collaboration of the program so

it evolves in ways that meet your local community's needs. to provide transitional housing in instances that's appropriate and help veterans swiftly move into permanent housing. and to continue efforts among work force investment boards, homeless services and housing organizations va medical centers and employers so veterans are quickly connected to jobs. in closing, here's the point. there's a lot we still need to do together. and strong collaboration, a commitment to work together rather than stand alone is one of the single most important common denominators anywhere that is -- where there's been success addressing veteran homelessness. so if we're not collaborating, if that authentic humility isn't coursing through our veins, if we are not grounded in the difference we make for those we

serve then shame on us. i came to va in 2009. at that time, we determined that reducing veteran homelessness was not enough. we made tremendous progress bringing down veteran homelessness so far. now let's end it. god bless all of you for your great work and for your singular exemplary devotion to our nation's veterans. thank you. [ applause ] >> i'm back. hello. that was phenomenal. i love this idea of the best in class collaborations because it talks about the word best and not perfect. not none of us are perfect. we can do a phenomenal i don't know in this work and want to thank va for that work.

we have an nchv first. we get excited about these on our team. first time we have going to have a governor of a whole state, mind you, oh good. you're still awake. awesome. we'll have the governor of the state of virginia here to talk about effectively ending veteran homelessness across the state and what that means for their continued investment. under his leadership, virginia became the first state to functionally end veteran homeless. he and the team created partnerships across multiple areas of service to maintain that accomplishment so we're really grateful to have him here today and i won't cry this time but introduce the honorable terry macauliffe, the 77th gover nofr of the commonwealth of virginia. >> thank you. thank you.

good morning, everybody! oh, come on. you can do better than that. good morning. i mean, listen, you should be jacked up. you're about four miles from virginia. you are very close to paradise. so when you get down here in the district, just come across the potomac river and spend a little money. honored to be with you. 1607. let's not have any illusions. 1607, those three ships from england came over to the united states. where did they go? they didn't go to pennsylvania or a rock up in massachusetts. no. they came to the commonwealth of virginia. we are the start of the great nation. it is an honor to be here in washington, d.c. i want to thank bailey crone for her tremendous leadership and the national coalition or homelessness. let's give bailey a great round of applause if we could. [ applause ] i would also like to recognize matthew leslie with the -- right here, for our department of

veteran services in the commonwealth of virginia. [ applause ] i've been out in the hallway with the greatest secretary of labor in the history of the united states of america, let's give secretary perez a great round of applause who's right here with us. [ applause ] and i do want to thank all the other partners of the united states interagency council on homelessness who literally have been so helpful to us and instrumental providing resources and support for our veterans and thanks to partners at the department of veterans affairs for their continuing collaboration with the commonwealth of virginia. the regional veterans affairs centers are also very engaged in our work. i appreciate what they do to help virginia's veterans. lastly, i want to thank all the veterans present with us today for their dedication to our country. let's give a round of applause if we could to all of our veterans. [ applause ] we love our veterans in

virginia. when i always say when we say virginia, this means veterans. when we say veterans, this means virginia. i am the proud son of a world war ii army captain who saw a lot of action in the pacific action. also the proud hear of a newly minted second lieutenant in the united states marine corps. [ applause ] i'm very proud of our military and the great work they do. as you probably know, virginia has the fastest growing veteran population in the state of united states. we have more female veterans than any state in the united states of america. we have 800,000 of a population of 8.4 million. we are very, very proud of our veteran population in the commonwealth of virginia. i believe that it's a tremendous honor and i also believe that that comes with a tremendous responsibility for us at the state level to make sure we're doing everything we can for our

men and women who put on that uniform in defense of our great nation. as you know i was very proud two years ago to be one of the first governors in america to sign on to the challenge to end veteran homeless in virginia. it was a big goal we put out and as you know and mentioned earlier i was very proud to stand in richmond, virginia, on last veterans day announce the that commonwealth of virginia was the first state in the united states of america to functionally end veteran homelessness in our state. [ applause ] secretary castro and matthew doherty came down from the united states interagency council to present the award to us but i understand once we get the great designation within five minutes you have a veteran that could be homeless. it's a great hon knob or the the

first and only state to get that designation but we understand the responsibility going forward. our work has just begun and i think sometimes when individual cities and states get that designation i think some people wonder can they stand down? i would tell you in virginia it was a call to us to service and duty and excited everybody to take it to the next level. in virginia now, we have a whole ecosystem that we have put together to make sure that we move our veterans who are homeless into not temporary housing but into permanent housing and now if you see a veteran on the street, all 211 and we have an operation together to move our veterans into permanent housing so this is a really exciting time to t literally take it to the next level. we have built an operation in virginia, the necessary network to ensure that veteran homelessness is rare, brief and most importantly nonrecuring. we always recognize the ongoing commitment to our veterans. it's not a one-time effort.

it's a continuing effort. we have to have continuing vigilance to do it. when i committed the virginia department of veteran services and my governor's council on coordinating the issues of homelessness to achieve this goal, we were inspired by the work done in such great cities as phoenix, salt lake city, houston and new orleans. let's give those cities a great round of applause for the great work that they have done. [ applause ] and they've set out a real great template. we didn't have to reinvent the wleel in virginia. we developed many of those practices and many of you in the room put this together and i want to thank all of you in this room who are helping to achieve this goal. the national coalition for homeless veterans convened this conference and literally to go forward, share the best practices and ideas and go back to the respective jurisdictions and do what we need to do for our veterans. i urge you to take the opportunity to build upon a more

integrated community system so there's no wrong door for our veterans. i want to highlight a few key element that is led to the success in virginia. first, let me say, you have got to have the leadership of your entire state and local officials. my governor's coordinating council on homelessness representing a broad range of federal, state and community partners took the lead in developing strategies to improve coordination, target those resources and then use data. 5 captioning performed by vitac