City of Philadelphia - File #: 181022

• File #: 181022
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: LAPSED
• File created: 11/15/2018
• In control: Committee on Public Health and Human Services
• Title: Authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on the state of veteran homelessness in Philadelphia and how to connect veterans to supportive services.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Squilla, Councilmember Taubenberger, Councilmember Oh, Councilmember Domb, Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember Reynolds Brown

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
11/15/2018	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed on This Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass
11/15/2018	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED

Title
Authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on the state of veteran homelessness in Philadelphia and how to connect veterans to supportive services.

Body
WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) approximately 11 percent of the adult homeless population are veterans and about 58,000 veterans are homeless on any given night-and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year; and

WHEREAS, Homeless veterans tend to be male (91 percent), single (98 percent), live in a city (76 percent), and have a mental and/or physical disability (54 percent). Black veterans are substantially overrepresented among homeless veterans, comprising 39 percent of the total homeless veteran population; and

WHEREAS, In addition to the complex set of factors influencing all homelessness - extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income and access to health care - a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse, which are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks; and

WHEREAS, About 1.4 million other veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing; and

WHEREAS, Veterans often suffer from conditions that make it difficult to find and maintain gainful employment and pay for housing. Additionally, military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment; and

WHEREAS, Along with veterans who have mental health or substance abuse problems, veterans with few financial assets or who don't have family members they can turn to for support may find themselves on the street; and

WHEREAS, Because of veterans' military service, this population is at higher r...