Printer Friendly Page
---------------
VA Launches Homeless Initiative to Tackle
Substance Abuse
January 31, 2007
Counselors to Work in Local Homeless Shelters
DENVER – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson, joined by White
House Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters and Denver
Mayor John Hickenlooper, today announced a new VA program to take
substance abuse services directly to homeless veterans in the community.
Today, during a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new, VA-funded
14-bed transitional housing facility for veterans at Denver C.A.R.E.S.
(Comprehensive Addiction Rehabilitation Evaluation and Services),
Nicholson committed to placing 30 substance abuse counselors in
communities around the country to take substance abuse counseling
directly to homeless provider sites. One of the new counselors is slated
to serve Denver-area programs, including C.A.R.E.S.
“Today’s announcement reflects the President's and VA’s commitment to
improving veterans’ lives by integrating treatment for substance abuse
and mental health conditions,” Nicholson said. “Denver C.A.R.E.S – and
many other programs like it – will benefit from this initiative.
“By partnering with cities like Denver, and its community and
faith-based service providers, we are making progress in fighting
veteran homelessness across the nation. Helping these veterans get off
the streets and become substance free so they may successfully return to
independent living in their communities is a priority,” Nicholson added.
“This is critical outreach on the part of Veterans Affairs,” said
Director Walters. “With proper diagnosis and intervention, the disease
of addiction is treatable, as with other chronic diseases, such as
diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. By implementing on-site counseling
at transitional facilities, we help recovering vets get one step closer
to being back on their feet.”
The addition of the counselors is, in part, in response to the
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which called for a
more recovery-oriented mental health system. The commission found that a
key challenge to developing integrated treatment programs is overcoming
the traditional separation between mental health and substance abuse
treatment.
Other communities receiving new counselors as part of today’s
announcement are:
Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati;
Cleveland; Columbia, S.C.; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Gainesville, Fla.;
Indianapolis; Iowa City, Iowa; Las Vegas; Little Rock, Ark.; Long Beach,
Calif.; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Milwaukee; Montrose, N.Y.;.
Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; Salisbury, N.C.; San Francisco; St. Louis;
Syracuse, New York; and West Haven, Conn.
VA granted Denver’s Department of Human Services $310,828 to renovate
existing space to create the 14 new transitional housing beds. VA helps
hundreds of similar public and nonprofit organizations provide
supportive housing and service centers for homeless veterans.
For more information on White House Drug Policy, please visit:
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
---------------
Larry Scott
Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage
