(Washington, D.C.) – On Thursday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) will chair a unique joint hearing on efforts to end homelessness among America’s veterans. The hearing will examine ongoing challenges and efforts, including looking at why existing federal programs are not more successfully targeting chronically homeless “forgotten” veterans and how homelessness prevention efforts can be improved for the new generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
 
The hearing will include a range of perspectives including the Secretaries of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development. The Senators will also hear from a formerly homeless Washington state veteran who has turned his life around and now counsels other veterans to seek permanent housing. The Senators will also question officials on a major upcoming report from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) on goals and methods to end veterans homelessness.
 
WHO:             U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
            U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)
U.S. Veterans Secretary General Eric Shinseki
            U.S. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan
Mike Brown, Assistant Program and Case Manager, Corps of Recovery Discovery, Valley Residential Services, Walla Walla, Washington 
Stephen Norman, Executive Director, King County Housing Authority, Seattle, Washington
Barbara Poppe, Executive Director U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
                      
WHAT:           “Housing America’s Heroes: An Examination of the Progress in Ending Veteran’s Homelessness”  - Joint Senate Hearing of the Housing and Veterans Appropriations Subcommittees
 
WHERE:        Dirksen Senate Office Building – Room 124
 
WHEN:           Thursday, May 20th, 2010
10:00 AM ET/7:00 AM PST
 
WEBCAST:    http://appropriations.senate.gov/