G004--Housing Specialist Washington D.C (688)

The Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DC VAMC) is seeking to contract a Housing Specialist(s) to provide supportive services to eligible Veterans identified, as chronically homeless, at risk of experiencing homelessness, or participating in the Housing and Urban Development/ VA Supportive Housing (HUD/VASH) Program, with the goal of securing and maintaining housing stability. This contract is for one full time Housing Specialist(s) with a 40-hour flexible schedule between 7am and 7pm and possibly some weekends to meet the needs of the Veterans. The Housing specialist(s) would be expected to schedule, coordinate, negotiate and facilitate housing opportunities for HUD/VASH participants as well as Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) participants through housing development activities. The Housing specialist(s) will need to be familiar with rental properties located in DC Metro area that are willing to accept HUD/VASH housing choice vouchers. Housing specialist(s) will be expected to maintain a data base of affordable residential properties and landlords willing to accept HUD/VASH housing choice vouchers as well as work with veterans who have poor and or limited credit history, low/fixed income, and minor criminal history. This data base shall include shared living resources, group homes and affordable assisted living facilities. The above services shall be fulfilled in accordance with all terms, conditions, provisions, and requirements listed herein. The period of performance for these services is for a period of twelve months from date of award plus four (4) one-year option renewals, exercisable at the government's sole discretion and subject to the availability of funds. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Homelessness is a significant national problem and has many causes. Individuals encountering homelessness are usually unemployed, unable to work, or have such low income that they cannot access safe affordable housing. Some Veterans who are homeless have disabling mental health, substance abuse, or physical conditions that led to, or contributed to their homeless situation. The number of Veteran families experiencing homelessness has significantly increased over past years when single individuals were the primary population affected. In an effort to support the VA s Zero Tolerance on homelessness among Veterans, the DC VAMC is seeking an onsite Housing specialist(s) to collaborate with the VA Homeless Program Case Managers and Veterans to secure affordable and appropriate housing. HUD/VASH is a collaborative program which pairs HUD s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance with VA case management and supportive services for homeless Veterans. These services are designed to help homeless Veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing and access the health care, mental health treatment, substance use counseling, and other supports necessary to help them in their recovery process and assist with maintaining housing. Through public housing authorities, HUD provides rental assistance vouchers to Veterans who are experiencing or at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness. Among VA homeless continuum of care programs, HUD/VASH enrolls the largest number and largest percentage of Veterans who have experienced long-term or chronic homelessness.