FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2024

Acting Governor Tahesha Way Announces Launch of Bringing Veterans Home Initiative
Initiative Aims to Effectively End Veteran Homelessness in New Jersey Over the Next Two Years

HOLMDEL – Acting Governor Tahesha Way today announced the launch of Bringing Veterans Home (BVH), an initiative led by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA). Acting Governor Way made the announcement during the State Veterans’ Day Ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial and Museum in Holmdel.

More than $30 million in State and federal funds has been committed to fund services and interventions over a two-year period to help place more than 1,000 homeless veterans in New Jersey in stable housing. This is the first time veteran service organizations in New Jersey will formally partner with the State in the fight against unsheltered veteran homelessness. This effort will be led by DCA’s Office of Homelessness Prevention via a dedicated data and project management team in partnership with DMAVA.

“We must always take the time to express our gratitude and honor the bravery and selflessness of our veterans,” said Acting Governor Way. “The courageous men and women who have served our country should never bear the weight of homelessness. Our Administration is committed to connecting veterans with the resources they need for the housing they deserve.”

“New Jersey veterans deserve our utmost respect and support—after serving our country, they should never worry about where they will sleep at night,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “My Administration is proud to partner with our veteran service organizations to invest in the fight against veteran homelessness and ensure that it will be rare and brief in New Jersey.”

“The Bringing Veterans Home Initiative represents a groundbreaking step toward ensuring that no veteran in New Jersey has to endure the hardship of homelessness,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “We are proud to lead this mission alongside the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and are dedicated to honoring our veterans by providing them with the secure housing they rightfully deserve. They served us, now it’s our turn to serve them.”

“The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has worked with veterans experiencing homelessness for nearly thirty years through the Veterans Haven program,” said Col. Yvonne Mays, DMAVA Commissioner and The Adjutant General. “Combining our veteran service organizations’ connections with DCA’s programs and network of providers will be an effective strategy to attack this problem.”

“The Bringing Veterans Home initiative represents New Jersey’s unwavering commitment to those who have served our nation. This comprehensive initiative isn’t just about providing housing – it’s about fundamentally transforming how we serve veterans experiencing homelessness across our state,” said Office of Homelessness Prevention Director Michael Callahan. “By bridging jurisdictional boundaries, eliminating service gaps, and creating dedicated pathways to permanent housing, we’re building a system that ensures no veteran or National Guard member in New Jersey will have to wonder where they’ll sleep at night. Those who’ve defended our freedom deserve nothing less than our absolute best effort to ensure they have a place to call home. Through this initiative, we’re not just setting ambitious goals – we’re providing the resources, coordination, and accountability needed to achieve them.”

The initiative aims to assist and support individuals in New Jersey who are experiencing homelessness and who meet the federal and State definitions of “veteran.” Service members and National Guard members will also be eligible.

BVH will enhance and support the existing ecosystem of care through additional diversion, rapid rehousing, street outreach, emergency sheltering, and permanent housing voucher programs such as the State Rental Assistance Program and the federal HOME program. This will help generate the surge capacity necessary to realize an effective end to veteran homelessness within the next two years.

Additionally, a portion of BVH program funds will be leveraged to build upon the data infrastructure of the State’s existing Continuums-of-Care (CoC) and coordination around veteran homelessness through the establishment of six (6) regional hubs that will improve housing outcomes and case coordination across CoC, Veterans Integrated Services Networks, and county lines. This will standardize a homeless veteran’s access to housing and will accelerate exits from homelessness.

In early 2025, veterans and service members experiencing homelessness will be able to self-refer to the Initiative by applying with the BVH Web Referral Form, calling the State’s existing homelessness hotline (NJ 211), or visiting any housing or homelessness services provider affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, DMAVA, DCA, or a member of the state’s 16 Continuums-of-Care. Outreach teams will also engage directly with veterans living in encampments or unsheltered conditions who lack access to resources, transportation, or other means and facilitate direct placement to emergency and permanent housing placements without an intermediary.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, historic preservation, and information privacy.

DMAVA provides trained and ready forces prepared for rapid response to a wide range of civil and military operations, as well as exemplary services to citizens and veterans of New Jersey.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media.

For more information about DMAVA, visit https://www.nj.gov/military/ or follow the Department on social media.

If you or someone you know is facing immediate risks of homelessness, call 2-1-1 or connect with your County Board of Social Services for applicable sheltering assistance. 2-1-1 community resource specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can help clients who speak many different languages. Information provided will be kept confidential, except for information that needs to be shared with providers involved in providing shelter or shelter-related services.