Transcripts For CSPAN National Coalition For Homeless Veterans Annual Conference 20160604

There is still so much work to be done. We are making a big commitment and we are excited to partner with all of you in that effort. Take a look at this video. [indiscernible] anxiety insiona nd home dotituations, would take me through every room. Chest but i never expected anything so elaborate. There is absolutely no way to withn and out of the house a wheelchair. It was dangerous. I remember looking outside the window. There was this huge ramp. But they are not doing it just for me. They are doing it for my family. I can shower, i can think, i can function. Appreciated. Eing it shows the return on doing something. I happen to have a sevenyearold daughter who is my world. Depot doams like home care. Our commitment to veterans is in the very dna of our company now, and we are going to continue to invest even more. We are pledging right here and the Home Depot Foundation will donate a quarter of a billion dollars to support veterans i 2020. So we are excited. We are pledging a quarter of a Million Dollars by 2024 hour veterans ive been related efforts. And we cannot wait to work with you guys even more on all of the things we will do. I would like to ask my team to stand up and wave, so you can see that they are here. [applause] shannon they will be here for the next few days and they are excited to talk to you about potential pop opportunities taking we can partner care of our veterans. So, now, i want to introduce you to an incredible partner of ours. Pack is an incredible man. Is an steve peck incredible man. What i find incredible is steve, nearly 20 years ago, saw a problem. He was a wounded vietnam veteran who did not have a home, living he was so, and touched and inspired he devoted the rest of his career to being part of the solution. His commitment is infectious and we are honored to be partnered with him. Please join me in welcoming steve peck. [applause] oh, she already got it going. Steve good morning. Shannon i live. Hold the music. Steve hold the drumroll. [laughter] they will just roll. They will start rolling. Steve thank you very much. Vetsve been around u. S. Has been around for 26 years now. With on, we worked community is developing many of our sites. We worked with century housing. Partnershipsout and know it takes some any people to do the jobs we are doing. We are attacking a system that the edge ofs off the table and it is our job to impact that system in a way that helps all of those veterans. We have been part of a system and a movement over the past 20some years that has reduced veteran homelessness by 80 . Now we are down to that last 20 and as we are all seeing, that is the most difficult part we are encountering. Weve got the low hanging fruit. Now the veterans we are seeing today are more challenged. There is more mental illness,ore chronic Substance Abuse and we are having to adjust all of our systems to deal with these veterans. A couple things we are focusing on in order to attack this last 20 we are focusing on homeless prevention. We are having to build more permanent housing. We know all the money that is going that way. We all know how difficult to get outousing is if you have dealt with all of the various rules and rags, the rules and regs the nimby issues, all these barriers to get permanent housing up and running. They are anxious to help us. I do not know any other foundation that calls and says, we will give you money when you apply. When they came to our las vegas site, they painted a mural, they put in a couple of wheelchair ramps, and we have been working with them ever since. Funding orontributed done volunteer opportunities in hawaii, houston, los angeles, long beach, st. Louis, washington, d. C. , prescott, and riverside. They donated money on riverside. They had just broken ground. We figured the value of the grants is more than 2 million. In long beach when a couple hundred volunteers showed up with our jewels that they did not know how to use. All of that had been delivered the night before. It sits on 26 acres. These volunteers attacked that. They built at least two gibby. Ones gazebos the value of that to those veterans really is incalculable. The volunteers got the immediate , building the gazebo and paving and wondering, who are these people who are devoting their entire day to . Uilding a better home for us theknow, permanent housing, sicilias that we build is more than just housing the facilities that we build is more than just housing. Every staff member, every case manager has to cooperate. The other thing we do is build a development that veterans are proud of. And you show the way that you value them. And knowing that they are valued hopes their selfesteem, helps them move back into the mainstream. Our latest project is right here in d. C. Money. Ed a bunch of as you know, time goes on, things get more expensive. We had a funding gap. Home depot stepped in and fill that gap. That facility blearily literally would not be there. They did a project where they landscaped the entire outside of the facility and that gave the. Eterans pride take prideping them in themselves and moving on. Last february there is a big snowstorm. A huge snowstorm. We took about 40 veterans and that first month out of the snow and the snow was piling up on the sidewalks and the Maintenance Crew came and they and shoveling the snows the maintenance workers took the shovels out. They took the pride in doing that. I probably sound a commercial of the for home depot [laughter] but i really am sincere. This effort has had an impact on the veterans we serve, the thousands of veterans you serve, and if more corporations stepped up like this, it would make our veteranier to end homelessness. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Director crone thank you so much, shannon and steve. Echnology is beating me its such a phenomenal amount of work that the Home Depot Foundation has done and really appreciate your partnership throughout the year and at the annual conference. We have a great partner in city, communion Community Development as well. Work with ourjust corporate sponsors, but we test or them throughout the year with all of my ideas and poor natalie and paula are always there to take the phone calls and humor what i think are brilliant plans for how we can build capacity with local Service Providers. I do want to thank them for their longstanding supports. As we think through what this new space means for Community Agencies that are better evolving to meet veteran means. Natalie ato ask citi Community Development to come up and say a few words. [applause] natalie good morning. I have to say, when baylee cried, i cried. I do want to acknowledge baylee for her leadership and the amazing work that she has done to the organization has done end homelessness among veterans. I am incredibly honored to be with you today. This is the fifth year in a row we have been here, and it is a significantly larger crowd with lots of people and energy and momentum. We are happy to be part of this movement and always humbled by the work that we do, that you do for your communitys day in and day out. Ylee witnessed my read who isllis here and will be here for the next of the country. I say it is a vacation working for citi compared to working for a notforprofit. So i applaud all of the work that you do. Nchv is as a perfect example and always to be a guide and a counselor to us. We do not know it all. We acknowledge that we are new in this space. When we won it get involved, we , and we metexperts so Many Organizations and learned so much, which helped shape our programs and this homeless, as you can see, when you hear from governor mcauliffe, how virginia was able to do this through so many initiatives i really applaud him as well. I do not know what you did on memorial day, but where im from in new york, it was raining. What does a family do over the long weekend. Clean the attic . I had a purpose though. I went into the attic because i was looking for the letters my husband wrote me from vietnam. And it was amazing. Every letter. G its sort of ended with this to sleepwait to come, in my on bed, i cannot wait to eat a meal at a leisurely pace, and i cannot wait to be with family and friends. That is theed vision. A home with dignity and safety and comfort. That is the work that has guided us as to how we are shaping citi salutes, which is our corporate citi. Nitiative atcit at its all of the divisions and how they have tried to focus on trying to make sure that our commitment to the military and veteran community is out there. In 2015, we started to work with Service Organizations in areas ,f housing, entrepreneurship finances, and employment. Today im really going to focus on housing. No one knows better than this that we need dedicated, hardworking people like you in this room because on any given 50,000 veterans ineping on the street america. That is a sad, sad state of affairs. We want to do our part. Home. T to bring them this Initiative Includes predevelopment funds, for transitional, temporary, and Supportive Housing for veterans and their families. The initiative has helped to of housing forts Homeless Veterans and i cannot go further without saying how terrific it has been to partner with andy burkart. She has been a guide for us. This work is messy. It is not a simple grants. It really is very messy. You have to have the patience. You have to have the fortitude. You have to have the right guidance to make that work. To bring them home, we have been able to support some interesting projects. And now residents like mary ogaras that have access to programs that help veterans reintegrate into community and now residents like mario ga rza. With objects in los angeles, philadelphia, washington, d. C. , long island, and more. Its critical for earlystage testing of new ideas and innovation. Let me be clear. Given the size of the task ahead veterann doing homelessness is neither the responsibility of philanthropy and neither is rather be the only way we will ensure that our nations veterans have the services and the shelter and the dignity they deserve. That to you all today without greater engagement and involvement with the private , with the Financial Institutions that finance Supportive Housing and development services, we will take too long to end veteran homeless this. Homelessness. Business, policy, and community interests converge, the impact multiplies. I am privileged to be part of an organization that does this work extremely well. Citi Community Capital finances construction budgets and deals in my colleague last year address to on this issue. Entire department dedicated to financing Affordable Housing, and we must be doing a decent job because for the ninth year in a row, namedommunity capital was the largest Affordable Housing lender in the country. Nded more than 1. 5 billion then our closest competitor. Regular bithynia beneficiaries of this type of financing have been veterans organizations as well. Take the New England Center for Homeless Veterans in downtown in in downtown boston. They have been focused exclusively on helping veterans in need. Every night, three hundred veterans arent permanent or some form of transitional housing at the are in ofmanent or some form transitional housing at the center. This is one of the largest resources for veterans. This facility also not only does multiut has multi services. It has worked for employment, training,omputer work for women, work for families. It is that full passage, which aspire to achieve. Another example, the humana studio in chicago. Again, families in three bedrooms. Youve got to be very complex when you are doing this kind of work. Citi provided an 8 Million Construction only loan, a 300 million line of credit in partnership with the National Equity fund fund manager. Again, its complex. Its messy. But we are getting it done. Donate our own properties, real estateowned properties for rehabilitation and repurposing. These donated properties can become homeownership opportunities for veterans and their families. A very special program is administered by purple heart foundednd organization by two young veterans wounded in iraq. The Organization Provides safe, affordable, and modified homes and also helps older veterans age in place by providing modifications to their homes to make it possible for them to live there. And before i close my remarks today, i want to make one final observation. Employment is equally important and also paved with the path to financial resistance. Once you are in a safe, secure job, you canhave a focus on becoming financially stable and resilient. One of the other things that. Invested in is a Financial Education curriculum to assist military families facing Money Management difficulties through partnerships with leadership organizations such as the corporate spouse Career Network and operation homefront. Again, it is a way to provide access to quality education, to ensure that a family and a veteran are capable of achieving what we all want to achieve, economic security. It shows how we can provide a in angful new start collective relationship. We really must do this and do this more than ever before. Rest ofu and enjoy the the conference. I know that i well. I know that i will. [applause] steve good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Is beverly speaker ebersold. Beverly spent six years with the corporation for Supportive Housing, and before that she was , and asram director many of you may know, the cat square in the leading Housing Program in detroit. For many years, she has been with the Interagency Council on homelessness. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce beverly ebersold. [applause] beverly thank you, chick. , for you so much, baylee inviting me to speak today and everything you do. The list is extensive. I think she is running around here somewhere right now. I appreciate oh, there you are. [laughter] right in front of me. The list is extensive and i appreciate your leadership and work. This is so exciting to see so many faces. Im excited to spend some time with you over the next few days. I will not add to lee cries, but if bay i will cry, too. I come from a long line of family members where military service is deep on both my site and my husbands side as part of our family tradition. So, on behalf of all of us at the u. S. Interagency council on homelessness, i am delighted to be with you. Im speaking to my colleagues who are here and several who will be joining over the next couple of days. I believe katie jennings, who works with my team and our chief of staff in the room . Wave oruys are, give a stand all right. I see you way in the back there. We are really pleased to be there with you as part of our federal partnership. We are looking forward to spending the next couple of days with you and soaking in the work that all of you do. I am also thrilled and honored ais thisaring the d morning with so many of our partners. Shannon and steve from u. S. Vets, governor mcauliffe, and deputies secretary gibson, and secretary perez. Honor to speak with you all today. These are people absolutely committed to ending veteran homelessness in this century. Their leadership is a constant source of his ration to me and this hardas we do Work Together. Make no mistake and i think all of you in the room know this this work is incredibly hard. I know that the theme of the conference is the building plan, buta postera. E are anything but post we are working hard to achieve all of the goals of open doors, including ending veteran homelessness. And we are taking the lessons drive greaterp progress on ending all homelessness, particularly those usich. At hor those who do not know usic me very well, let me explain. Madenteragency council is up of communities that are dedicated to opening doors. Agencies like the department of Veterans Affairs and the department of labor, along with hud, hhs, and the department of education. Our shared goal is to end among families, among youth, and among those experiencing chronic homelessness, and among all veterans. Colleagues at usich. But mightyall, federal agency. Some of my colleagues are responsible for driving action in washington so federal agencies and National Partners are aligned to achieve those goals of opening doors. What some of you may not know there are five of us out in the field and we are working to support your efforts across the country. As a director of national luckytives, aii am enough to support that team. I know there were detroiters on that team any detroiters in the house . All right. Good for you guys. Sorry, my detroit roots have come out. One thing i want to say about detroit, and people who know me know that i like to talk a lot about detroit as my hometown. Hopefully my colleagues from detroit in the room would agree the folks in detroit know the spirit and the focus it takes to tackle what can seem like insurmountable challenges. We are used to focusing on those things and we constantly look to those challenges and opportunities and we are city eachhange in our and every day. Teams work of my right now is to help communities understand what it will take to hopelessness, so every community has a system in place to make sure that homelessness among veterans is brief, and nonrecurring. Let me say that again. To make sure that homelessness among veterans is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. It is a big job. Is a huge job. There is no way we could accomplish it without number ship across our 19 agencies. Secretary perez has been working hard to make sure those programs can be knitted together in an program. Housing secretary perez and his team are continuing to drive stronger connections between a workforce system and a Homeless Service system. Part of my work is to leave the interagency process through which communities can be confirmed in ending veteran homelessness. I do this with my colleagues at the v. A. And in hide. I want to get a show of hands. Know how many communities have been commended for ending veterans homelessness . I want to see if there are any kind of guesses. I do not want governor mcauliffe to answer this one. Any guesses . Three. Beverly ok. I hear some shouting around the room. We have confirmed two states or genia and connecticut. Whoo [applause] confirmednd we have the six communities. What i would like to do how many of you are from one of those communities or states . And give yourselves a round of applause. A quick show of hands. [applause] beverly great. I think your leadership and the work you are doing inspires us we all work toward this goal. And what i want to say is while we do not think of it as a race, i would be remiss if i did not mention of those two states, virginia got there first. [laughter] beverly and governor mcauliffes leadership was vital to that success. Three of our confirmed communities san ansonia, houston, and philadelphia [laughter] beverly houston is in the house. If they can do it, we know everyone can do it. Through the confirmation process, we have learned a lot about what successful communities are doing right to achieve criterion benchmarks. I want to share a little of that with you today. First and foremost, they have partnership across the community, including the coc working closely with the v. A. , private shelters, Community Service providers. Those partnerships are key for building and tracking realtime list of veterans experiencing homelessness in a community. A strong, active list is something that has been critical in successful communities. Another thing we are seeing in successive communities is the ability to move people quickly through the system. Outrage,ts with great ,helters, great outreach shelters, and services for veterans. I think you have heard some at the federal level say this we have never ended homelessness before and we are doing it now. There are people who are actually doing this and it is actually people believe we can achieve this goal. But one of the first of all, some things for you to think about and ponder. System have to be working well before we can say it has ended homelessness. Second, how do we align all of our programs, including transitional housing, to create low barrier housingfirst approaches . Third, how do we make sure that system is robust enough so that it continues to perform well over time so that we can sustain our progress next week, next month, next year, and into the future. Answering these questions requires a lot more hard work. This business and work to end homelessness once and for all. I know that people in the room are two, and i am really hoping that over the next few days that this can help us get better at the work we are doing and help us to achieve the goal together. Thank you for the opportunity. It is great to be here. [applause] before i begin, the introduction of our next speaker , let me take a second to talk about something that is coming up this morning today. , andg the Members Meeting i know are a lot of stick around for the Members Meeting, but this year, it is really worthwhile to do it. Let me build on what beverly was talking about. We are beyond 2015, and much has been learned by you, much has been done, and there are still challenges, as beverly has alluded to, but lets capture. Our experience what is working . What is not working . And what is needed . Remember, the organization is your voice, so your insights will help in chc to inform its nchc ton the future inform its policy in the future. I think you will find it a good example of where we need to go, where we have been, and where we need to go. Robert schneider is the chief of staff of the department of Veterans Affairs. Sloan was delayed on travel and beyond his control was not able to make it. We are very lucky to have Bob Schneider here. He is the chief of staff, as i mentioned. As the executive director of my v. A. Task force, which i think some of you have heard about. He led the largest organizational transformation in the departments history, which is my v. A. Mr. Schneider joined the department of Veterans Affairs in june 2009, pointed executive director of the v. A. Collaboration service, where he saw the development of joint policies and programs between the v. A. And defense. Union that the government has been working on for some time, and it really is important. He is also a career military officer, army. Thank you. Mr. Schneider served as a Field Artillery officer and. He was also on the faculty of west point, and he has also served a Strategic Advisor to the chief of staff of the army and also the office of secretary of defense, so ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce Bob Schneider, the chief of staff of the department of Veterans Affairs. [applause] welcome, sir. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Know that the deputy secretary is disappointed he could not he here this morning. His like a cancer less night. His flight got canceled last night. Just a couple more notes about myself, if you will indulge me just a little bit. My dad was a world war ii veteran. He was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps at that time very my father in law was an artillery man, landed at normandy, was. Ounded by a dive bomber my older brother is a vietnam veteran. Whens in cambodia president nixon was on tv saying there were no u. S. Troops in cambodia. [laughter] i am a 1981 graduate of west point, served a little over 26 years in the army, and my son is a 2014 graduate of west point and is a calvary squadron platoon leader serving in afghanistan. I tell you these things because Veterans Issues are personal to me as they are to all of you, and as they are to the vast majority of the employees at the department of Veterans Affairs. All veterans, and everybody united in this noble debtt effort oh a great to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Thank you very much for everything that you are doing. [applause] greatyou for being a partner in our common fight to end homelessness amongst veterans. I know this is the biggest conference yet, and that is a great sign. As we continue our work, we have to continue to grow and bring new partners to the table and look apart as we may have never considered before. Nonprofits, forprofits, governmental agencies at federal, state, and local levels. There are countless innovative and creative ways to bring resources to bear to help veterans who are homeless. Im talking about collaboration, which is going to be the main point of my talk. Collaboration, we hear that word a lot, so much that some might imagine genuine, productive collaboration is an easy task. It is not. Candidly, when we really start looking at collaboration, we often worry. We worried a collaboration with an organization with goals different than ours might interfere with our work. We worry that it might interfere with fundraising. That our organization might lose some of its own notoriety. Something we can all agree on, the interest of those we are serving must take priority over the any interest of organization if we are talking seriously about helping veterans. Collaboration dictates that we do what is best for those we serve. , Service Members, veterans, and their families. Organization centric paradigm start to break down. Its not about your organization anymore. What is you realize best for those we serve will be best for your organization over the long term. Those initial efforts at collaboration may not be perfect , but they are so rewarding. Think about how authentic that is for you and your organization. Think about the authenticity of in making aed difference for those you serve good if you focus on the people you are serving, then the world really is your oyster appeared week a College Things for veterans beyond our wildest imagination. Your oyster. Cobbler things for veterans beyond your wildest imagination. Is the enginengs that drives the nonprofit world. In the private sector, he explains, there are universal metrics like earnings and return on equity so you can attract capital, but the nonprofit world , Brand Reputation is what matters most. Think of this as a virtuous ,ycle to you get some resources you go and do things with those resources. People learn you did good things with those resources, so they give you more. You start working a virtuous cycle. How do you measure that . I do evaluate it all . Think about processes like this, inputs, activity, output, outcomes, impact. , inputs,peat that activity, output, outcomes, impact. Good. Pretty we are pretty comfortable measuring what we do with regard to input an activity. How much hours we put in. How much money we have spent. How many grants we have awarded. But the further you go towards outcomes and impact, the harder it is to measure. But it is the outcomes and impact that we need to focus on. Outcomes and impact, that is where we get to authenticity. It is the difference we make for those we serve. , veteran homeless is down by 36 since 2010. Outcome, a nearly 50 drop in unsheltered Homeless Veterans. Outcome, more than 360,000 veterans and their family members permanently housed, rapidly rehoused, or prevented from falling into homelessness. Outcome, new orleans became the first major city to end veterans homelessness in 2014. , 26 communities into states and counting have achieved an effective in two veteran homelessness is an indication of how fast progress is being made, might notes this morning were 24, so im happy here that it is 26. [laughter] virginia is one of those tuesdays we talked about this morning. Those are outcomes. Lets talk about impacts. , a family getting their father back after he has had a bad expense in afghanistan and ptsd, endedd with in jail and homelessness. That veteran is now working on his bachelor of arts and social and the life of his family is the best it has ever been. Impact, children proud of their who went from serving his country to sleeping in cars, but now has a job, a home, and hope. That veteran has been setting an example and his new job, so now his company is now hiring more formally Homeless Veterans. Impact, after nearly 20 years of , smiling, laughing, and being a productive citizen. Homelessness avoided, a home of their own, and a future helping other veterans succeed in their education. Impact, 130 of the most vulnerable and chronically Homeless Veterans living in a community of veterans with Wraparound Services onsite. That is not thanks to v. A. It is thanks to you and thousands of others like you concentrating on outcomes and impacts for veterans. Because i have been at v. A. A while, seven years, i think its instructive to think about what the federal government looks like from outside. It is constructive for me to think about what the American People should expect of government. They should expect governmental departments working collaboratively rather than functioning as silos. Withal agencies working states, counties, and true intergovernmental collaboration. Processes engaging nongovernmental organizations and the private sector and meaningful publicprivate partnerships. Programs tackling significant challenges and providing appropriate support to those among us. Goals and objectives maced on based on measurable outcomes for those we serve, and sustained effort ends that he progress reported yearbyyear against those outcomes. In my view, those are characteristics of Good Government or what secretary gibson calls best in class collaboration. Bringing aing about functional and to veterans homelessness. Collaboration means engagement across Service Providers, law enforcement, prisons and jails, hospitals, libraries, and job centers. About courtney did grassroots outreach. We are talking about agencies working together to proactively seek out veterans needing assistance. Think about this challenge. What is the answer . Collaboration. Last year the overall veterans Unemployment Rate was the lowest veterans,ears, 4. 6 compared to 5. 2 for nonveterans. From tom perez and just a bit. Secretary perez and the department of labor, v. A. s principal art and are addressing veterans unemployment, and by extension helping to end veterans implement. Veterans unemployment. Each year across the country, the department of labor provides employment and services at 2500 veteran american job centers. Last year, and served over 40 million americans, nearly one million of those were veterans. They are funded by the department of labor and are administered by state level work forced investment boards. They are operated by local communities. They are examples of best in class collaboration. Think about another challenge, incarceration and veteran homelessness often go handinhand. What is the answer . Collaboration. Veteran treatment courts are helping communities break the cycle of homelessness and incarceration. As one specialist explained, it is really a Community Coming together to support the court, to support the veteran. They were closely with organizations, v. A. Homeless staff, Mental Health programs, veterans Service Organizations, veteran mentors, and many others. In 2009, there were only four or five of these courts. Today, there are over 400. Years,e last six veterans justice outreach specialists have served over 123,000 justice involved veterans. More than 46000 and 2015 alone. The proof of goodness in that collaboration is veteran outcomes. Two thirds of veterans before veteran treatment courts successfully complete regiments. They experience 88 reduction in arrests and a 30 increase in stable housing in the year after. Challenge, in tough housing markets where there is a shortage of safe affordable , it does not quite make it. One more time, what is the answer . Collaboration. Im talking about roll up your sleeves kind of work. Amongst,collaboration mayor and lee, the citys housing authority, housing and urban development, and the folks at San Francisco be a medical center. , ay took a Derelict Hotel liability and eyesore for the community, and transformed it into affordable, safe, attractive housing for 130 Homeless Veterans. Homes are heroes in the heart of the citys financial district. That is taking Housing First model to the next step. That is truly an example of what is possible when people Work Together, partner, collaborate, and innovate. Told i ask a few folks stand . Some swords and plowshares out in San Francisco. Any of these folks here . Very good. [applause] thank you very much for the innovative effort. There are many more stories like that out there, and i would encourage you to tell them, share them, the people that benefit from those stories are other veterans. Tell those stories. Organizational change is always necessary. It is about staying relevant in a rapidly changing world. Tailoring practices to the evolving need of the people you serve. In v. A. We are engaged in the most significant transformational change in history. Putting the needs, expectations, and interest of veterans first. We are looking at v. A. From the veterans perspective, from the perspective of those we serve. We call that transformation by v. A. And that includes five strategies. The first two strategies are improving the veterans experience and improving the employee experience. Those two go together because you dont get one without the other. Achievingee is support Services Excellent spirit for is establishing a culture of continuous performance improvement. And number five, enhancing Strategic Partnerships. Enhancingstrategy, Strategic Partnerships, is fundamental to our discussion today. Strengthening Strategic Partnerships is grounded in authentic humility. We cant do it by ourselves. We need help. In fact, i have learned there are at least three areas, at least three, where i dont believe any organization can meet the challenge on its own. One is Mental Health. One is career transition. On the third is veterans homelessness. Thats why the worker shannon generation of the Home Depot Foundation is so important. Thank you very much for the announcement made this morning. That is why natalie of the marco city Community Development is so important. Is that close . [laughter] shannon, natalie, thank you for your work as an example for businesses across the country. Its going to take the best in class collaboration to finish the job of creating coordinated assessment Entry Systems to ensure that there is no wrong door for veterans seeking health. Its going to take some best in class collaboration to set concrete and ambitious monthly and quarterly goals are helping veterans get back in the housing. Its going to take some best in class collaboration to ensure shelter is immediately available to any veteran experiencing unsheltered homelessness, to make sure every community has the resources, plants and system capacity and place should any veteran become homeless or at risk. And to identify by name all veterans experiencing homelessness and share that list across systems so that not even one falls through the cracks. Thats what people like mike ware and the Va Medical Center and his partners in the continuum of care are all about. Theyre using the homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System or homes assessment form for bidirectional data sharing for democratic data on Homeless Veterans. By the way, the same practice can lead to better understanding of the homeless veteran population in your communities and more quickly identify shelter veterans who arent getting va services theyve earned, and then getting them access to those services. Is mike here . Theres mike. [applause] tomorrow, mike will share the best practice in detail so you can apply it across the country. To bring functional and to veteran homelessness will take great collaboration to shape and chair are programmed so it evolves in ways that means meets your local communities needs provide service intensive , transitional housing and instances appropriate and to help veterans swiftly move into permanent housing. And to continue efforts among assessment boards, Homeless Services and housing organizations, Va Medical Centers and employers so veterans are quickly connected to jobs. In closing, heres the point. Theres a lot we still need to do together. Strong collaboration, a commitment to Work Together rather than stand alone is one of the single most important comment denominators anywhere where theres been success addressing veteran homelessness. So if we are not collaborating, if that authentic humility isnt coursing through our veins, if we are not grounded in the difference we make for those we serve, then shame on us. I came to v. A. In 2009. At that time we determined by , reducing veteran homelessness was not enough. We made tremendous progress bringing down veteran homelessness so far. Now let us end it. God bless all of you for your great work and for your cingular singular devotion to a nations veterans. Thank you. [applause] im back. Hello. That was phenomenal. I love this idea that the best in class collaboration talks about the word best which is not , perfect. None of us are perfect but we can still do a phenomenal job in a sort. I want to thank the a at this time. Now this is the first time, we get excited about this on our team. First time we are going to have a governor of a whole state, mind you. You are still awake. That is awesome. Well have a governor, the state of virginia to talk about effectively ending veteran homelessness across the state and what that means for their continued investment. Under his leadership, virginia became the first state to in veteran homelessness. His teams have created strong collaborations across multiple areas do not only obtained that , but maintained that same accomplishment. We are grateful to have been here today. Im not going to cry this time, but we will introduce the honorable terry mcauliffe, 72nd governor of the commonwealth of virginia. [applause] thank you. Good morning, everybody. Come on. You can do better than that. You should be jacked up. You are about four miles from virginia. You are very close to paradise. So when you get done here in the district, just come across the Potomac River and spend a little money. Honored to be with you today. Lets remember lets not have , 1607, anyone have any illusions. Those three ships from england came over to the United States. Where did they go . They didnt go to pennsylvania or the rock in massachusetts. No they came to the commonwealth , of virginia. We are the start of our great nation. Its an honor to be with you here today in our Nations Capital washington d. C. ,i went to thank bailey for her tremendous leadership. Lets give bailey a great round of applause if we could. [applause] i would also like to recognize Matthew Lusby right here for our department of Veterans Services on the commonwealth of virginia. Ive been out in the hallway with the greatest secretary of labor in the history of the United States of america. Lets give secretary perez a great round of applause. [applause] and i do want to thank all the other partners of the United States Interagency Council on homelessness whove been so helpful to us in instrumental in providing support and resources for all of our veterans. I want to specifically extend my thanks to our partners at the department of Veterans Affairs for their continuing collaboration with the commonwealth of virginia at the. The regional Veterans Affairs medical centers are also very engaged in our work. I appreciate what they do to help virginias veterans. Lastly i want to thank the , veterans present with us today for their dedication to our country. Lets give a round of applause if we could to all of our veterans. [applause] we love our veterans in virginia. I always say when we say virginia, that means veterans. When we say veterans, that means virginia. Im the proud son of a World War Ii Army captain who saw a lot of action in the pacific theater. Im also the proud father of a newly minted Second Lieutenant in the United States marine corps. [applause] im very proud of our military and the great work they do. As you probably know, virginia has the Fastest Growing veteran population of any state in United States of america. We have more veterans under the age of 25 than any state in america. We have more female veterans than any state in the United States of america is. We have 800,000 veterans out of a population of 8. 4 million. We are very proud of our veteran population in the commonwealth of virginia. I believe that its a tremendous honor and i also believe that comes with a tremendous responsibility for us to make sure we are doing everything we possibly can for our men and women who have put on the uniform in defense of our great nation. As you know, i was very proud to years ago to be one of the first governors to sign on to the endors challenge, to veteran homelessness in virginia. Out and as youut , know it has been mentioned earlier, i was very proud to stand their war memorial in richmond, virginia last veterans day and announced that the commonwealth of virginia was the first state in the United States of america to functionally in end veteran homelessness in our state. Secretary castro and Matthew Doherty came down from the United States Interagency Council to present the award to us. I do understand that once we get that great designation, within five minutes to have another veteran who could be homeless minutes later. It was a great honor for us to be the first and only state to get that designation, but more importantly understand the responsibilities going forward. Our work has just begun. Sometimes an individual states and cities get the designation, i think some people wonder once they get that designation can , they stand down. I will tell you in virginia it was a call to us to serve as a duty. Its excited everybody to literally take it to the next level. In virginia we have a whole ecosystem we put together to make sure that we move our veterans who are homeless into not temporary housing but into , permanent housing and if we , see a veteran on the street, call 211 and we have the whole operation together to move our veterans into permanent housing. So this has been a really exciting time to literally take it to the next level. We have built an operation in virginia. We have built an operation to ensure that veteran homelessness is rare, brief and most importantly nonrecurring. We always recognize the ongoing commitment to our veterans and its not a onetime effort. Its a continuing effort. We have to have continued vigilance to do it. When i committed to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and my Governors Council on coordinating the issues of homeless is to achieve the goal, we were inspired by the work done in such great cities as phoenix, Salt Lake City, houston and new orleans. And new orleans. Lets give those cities a great round of applause for the great work they have done. [applause] theyve set out a real great template. We didnt have to reinvent the wheel of virginia appear to do to but the cities have done. We developed many practices in , and many of you put this together and i wanted thank you all who are helping to achieve this goal. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans conveyed this congress. So literally we can go forward, share best practices and go back to our respective jurisdictions and do what we need to do for our veterans. I urge you to take this opportunity to build upon a more integrated Community System so that there is no wrong door for our veterans. I want to highlight a few key elements that have led to our success in virginia. First, youve got to have the leadership of your entire state and local officials. My governors coordinating council on homelessness which represents a broad range of federal, state and Community Partners took the lead in developing strategies to improve coordination, target those resources, and then use dates. A. We are proud of the work we did with our data to drive to work every day. We strengthen all of our services and partnerships are and open channels of opened channels of communication. We were very probably how they boot camp and brought everyone in from all over the state of virginia for several days. We then put out a hundred day challenge which was probably the most of gordon thing we did to say we have a 100 day challenge to veteran homeless as a knack of everybody with a goal out there, really got everybody energized in iron to two really underscored the urgency of her mission. The support of our local leaders was absolutely critical. I convened our mayors and we had 20 mayors, was signed on to the challenge to really reinforce our commitment. We put shared Community Goals ahead of individual Agency Initiatives which as i can tell you when you run a state 8. 4 million, you have a big state bureaucracy. The goal is to break down the those silos and say weve got to Work Together for a common goal. We were able to do thafor veteran population and put our veterans first. Second we invested resources which is very we invested resources which is second, very hard without money and the necessary tools you cannot get this done along with the resources from the Veterans Affairs and hard, we at the statelevel put up many millions of dollars for state rapid rehousing funds, which would earmark specifically to serve our Homeless Veterans who are not eligible for va services and many of those in Rural Communities who could not access to the resources. The v. A. Resources. We leverage our private partnerships with virginia Power Companies. We brought our Power Companies together and said we need to provide utility deposits and they committed millions of dollars in virginia to put up utility deposits and bill assistance for veterans and they we work to make sure that not one single veteran in virginia lost their house due to unpaid utilities. I want to thank our Power Companies, who really stepped up to the plate to help us. The Virginia Housing alliance placed on tears with the americorps volunteer Program Throughout virginia to assist at the coronation and data support. Two teams of National Civilian conservation Corps Members compiled a master list of Homeless Veterans which is one , of the most difficult things that you have to accumulate. How do you get that list put together and everybody on the list. And then we used these resources to collect items from having kids. Our department of Veterans Services received help from the veterans from the veteran scorer to assist Homeless Veterans with all the paperwork so they could do that for them. Finally, we adapted all the best practices around the country to reach our goal. Housing first practices are at the heart of work in virginia, ensuring veterans with the highest barriers first and are most get the top priority. Veterans experiencing homelessness, whether in shelters or in streets are no just a number. There is now a name and face to everyone in virginia. Communities throughout virginia, everybody now knows their names. When they give them the right opportunities, we know that they will be successful. Weve seen it happen time and time again. I am so proud of what weve achieved, but we know the hardest part is really sustaining that work. Next week we will hold the 4th annual veteran homeless summit at ourirginia war memorial. Who will bring all of our stakeholders together, providers from across the state will come together to focus on how we continue success by connecting veterans to health care, opportunities and for meaningful employment. You cannot just do this with housing. You got to make sure veterans have access to quality care. In fact, when i leave here at the state of virginia there have been issues about veterans being able to access Quality Health care. We cannot wait any longer for others to provide that health care. I just provided in our budget, which we just passed last month we are building two new veteran , Health Care Centers 100 paid for by the state of virginia and then i will leave here and in Northern Virginia, i will today dedicate a new center we are going to build. We will have one in Northern Virginia and additionally one in hampton roads. We owe it to our veterans. [applause] and for the marines in the room here today will be named the polar center after chesty polar. We are working in the health care. We are working on the housing. When you say veterans, i want you to think virginia. When you think virginia, i want you to think veterans. Weve dealt with the homelessness peace and continue to deal with the health care piece. The other important thing is to make sure that our veterans, that there is a job for them out there. Thats one of the most important things to work on. We have over 800,000 veterans in virginia per capita, the most of any state in america. As you know virginia is not only , for veterans, but active duty. We are the greatest state for of our military. We have the Largest Naval base in the world. 27 military installations. The pentagon, cia, quantico, langley. I could go on and on. You get the point. We are very proud of our military. When you transition out about 15,000 a year from active duty askederan status, i governor whenever veterans tuesday in the commonwealth of virginia. Youve got to go to work for us for the future. You talk about a highly motivated highly disciplined workforce. Youre talking about a veteran. We want to make sure we are coordinating folks when they move to the veteran status that we have Employment Opportunities for them. When i became governor, working with our v3 virginia values veterans program, who referred to as our v3 program. I put out a goal that under my term as governor i want to see 11,000 veterans hired through our vthree companies. I was very proud of our team. Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Defense Affairs is a fourstar retired admiral john harvey. He and his team have done a great job in this regard. We hit that goal 900 days early and now i have a goal in the next year and a i want to see 20,000 veterans hired through our vthree program. My governor scored in any council on homelessness is really focused on the intersection of homelessness in criminal justice that we are really providing housing for our most vulnerable citizens rather than be done to this i go through jails and prisons. End that and i , challenge all of you to build on your partnerships and develop really creative, collaborative and permanent Community Solutions to end homelessness in our populations. The issues are not easy. Solutions as you know are not simple, necessary medical or whether its getting an i. D. Or necessary medical or Behavioral Health care or simply just finding a landing. We know it can be much easier to raise a child, to get services you need, to find and maintain employment if you have a stable home. We all agree with that. In virginia, we have transformed the housing and support systems that serve our veterans. The success weve had is based on leadership, resources, tenacity and best practices which are driven by data. In the coming months i look forward to working with my colleagues at the National Governors association. I take over as chairman of the july, National Governors association, and one of my main issues will be dealing with the issuer of our veterans and veteran homelessness, an issue i will continue to raise about the other 49 governors through the National Governors association. [applause] so let me just say that i thank you for giving me this opportunity. Here in virginia, we are proud of the distinction that we were the first and only state to essentially end veteran homelessness. Weve got a long way to go but we have the infrastructure in place. Finally to all of you in this room, you are here because youre passionate about her veterans. I want to thank you from all the different 50 states from all around the United States of america. I thank you for what you do to our veterans. These men and women put on the uniform to defend our great country and you are doing everything you can to make the transition and to deal with the issues they been better. On behalf of all of us in leadership in government, thank you to you. If we continue to pull together, we can give our veterans as a place to call home. Thank you. Have a great day. Please, please, come visit the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth. Thank you very much. [applause] its now my pleasure to introduce the secretary of labor, thomas perez. Briefly, secretary perez training was as a civil rights attorney. Hes the former maryland secretary of labor, former assistant attorney general for civil rights in the United States where he worked on , student discrimination, police discrimination, and voter rights. As the department of labor secretary, he has worked on increasing the minimum wage and overtime protection for lower wage individuals. The first time he came and spoke with us as secretary, he met with the board shortly thereafter and asked what he could do to help end veteran homelessness. We said one of the first things we could do is to increase the asked for the hprp program. We are glad to say that happen this year for the first time. [applause] good morning. Its great to be back. Thank you, governor mcauliffe. No energy there. [laughter] here is what i love about this job. We are making a ton of progress. And leon thank you for your help , and that progress. Thank you for your service to the nation including, but not limited to the department of labor. Bailey where did you go . ,i saw you here before. Thank you. You are probably doing some more work. The beauty of this and politicians and leaders like governor mcauliffe and healthy competition. When one state ends functional homelessness, guess what the other state governors start doing. They call in their people and say why werent we first . And then the mayor of phoenix ends functional homelessness followed by houston and new orleans. Guess what happens at the annual mayors conference. Healthy competition. That works for everybody. Thank you for what you are doing. Its all about partnership. Im excited to be back here because i remember vividly my first visit. You do gods work. You are the embodiment of what i used to see when i used to walk into the department of health and Human Services when i worked there during the clinton administration, and there was a bust of hubert humphrey. Something he said that i was inspired me, which is the moral test of our strength is the nation is how we treat those in the dawn of life, how we treat those in the twilight of life and how we treat those in the shadows of life. And your mission is making sure that there are no People Living in the shadows. Your mission and what gets you out of bed every single day is to make sure the folks in the shadows, our Homeless Veterans are in the sunshine. , have the opportunity that they so deserve. Im here to stay thank you for all you are doing. [applause] my parents taught me that if you want you want to get to heaven, you better have letters of reference from folks living in the shadow. My dad died when i was a kid and my mother died 10 years ago. They never told me how many letters of reference i need it. So i have spent my entire career in service because when not that ladder is down for everybody, thats who we are as a nation. We all succeed only when theyll succeed. When we build partnership and you know this because all of the recipients know that the key to success is partnership. We cant do it alone. The va cant do it alone. The state of virginia cant do it alone. The department of labor cant do it alone. All of you running or playing leadership roles in nonprofits cant do it alone. But when we are together, we are stronger together. And thats what its all about. I look around the room and see so many partners. Ic partners from the v. A. With whom we work very closely. I see my colleagues and your former colleagues from the department of labor veterans employment and training, a remarkable organizations. So many people, present company excluded. Are i talk to people, they sometimes unaware of this office that does so much critical where. I want to stay thank you to my colleagues and all of the remarkable recipients of the grants because we are learning from you and every single year we are Getting Better at what we do thanks to you. And conferences like this, leadership is about getting off the dance floor and onto the areony, and that is what we doing for the next three days. Were on the balcony, looking down, see whats working well, what we need to tweak and how we can do a better job. All coming together around a Common Mission of making sure that there are no Homeless Veterans in the United States of america. That is our collective vision. That is our collective goal. [applause] and we are making progress. For me, this isnt simply something i do because we have the Veterans Office at the department of labor. This is not simply a vocation for me. It is an avocation. When i come to conferences like this, i think of my father who served with distinction as a legal immigrant. Then after he got out of the , service, he worked at the va hospital from 1958 until the day he died in 1974. And i remember vividly i used to do some things that were ill advised in my youth. When i went to the va hospital to get stitched up because i needed some stitches, the doctor who was a friend of his looks me in the eye and i was 8yearsold or nineyearsold and a stepson, son, is this injury serviceconnected . All the people around him laughed. I didnt know what he was talking about. Now i know what hes talking about. The answer was no for the record. But my father and my mother taught us and my mother was the second youngest of nine. Again, came here from the Dominican Republic to escape a , and her fiver siblings, her five brothers, i should say, we are so proud of the ability to serve the United States of america because immigrants have been serving in making the ultimate sacrifice for this nation since the revolutionary war and that is the reality in this country. [applause] frankly, the person who should be giving this talk today is not me, but if my wife. It is my wife. My wife is about to celebrate her 20th anniversary of service at the washington legal clinic for the homeless and many of the her clients, as you know, our Homeless Veterans. And what she has taught me about my work at the department of justice on the department of labor has taught me is that it really is all about partnership because the challenges that , confront veterans, as you know dont exist in a vacuum, so , neither can the solutions. Whether its health, housing, education, transportation, Job Opportunities they are all links , in a chain. As i learned from planes orts you are only as good as your , weakest link. So what we have to do here is fortify every link link in the chain. My colleagues and im sure they are here have the privilege of sharing the Interagency Council. There may be no i in team, but the most important letter of i because its continuous Quality Improvement , but we are all about. We dont know what we dont know and that is why we rely on you for so much feedback and for 3 of the fact is that the transition assistance program, the Labor Department puts on what we call the department of labor employment workshop. Thank you for your role in the progress we have made. Be numbers day, first friday of the month. We talk about the jobs numbers, and that progress we have made on that employment link of the chain is undeniable. The Unemployment Rate has fallen to 4. 6 , down from 8. 7 in the depths of the reception recession, and that is the function of partnership, so many people in this room, employers who stepped to the plate, that is the president s unrelenting commitment, the first lady, and dr. Biden, and so many others who have stepped to the plate. We have made so much progress because so many other veterans have the opportunity to bring their skills to the workplace and countless more employers are benefiting from it. Id like to think about match. Com. Job seekers who want to punch their ticket to the middle class, businesses who want to grow their business. In the depths of the reception there were 7. 5 jobseekers for every job opening. Now there are 1. 4 for every job opening. That is good news for veterans. That is good news for every job seeker. Every year, ouamerican job centers, where match. Com is an action, 2500 job centers, we serve about 14 million people, including roughly one million veterans in the services. We help Transition Service members and spouses to prepare for civilian life through the transition assistance program. The last fourth of july, i travel to hawaii because one of the remarkable opportunities in hawaii is you can visit every branch of the service, including the coast guard, and what we saw there, we did a number of focus groups, not only was Service Members, but with their spouses to talk about the transition systems program, and thanks to your health, things to the help of so many others, the Program Keeps getting revised. It gives Getting Better. Continuous Quality Improvement is what we are all about, but we dont know what we dont know, and that is why we rely on you for so much feedback for three of the fiveday transition assistance program, the Labor Department puts on what we call the department of labor employment workshop. We know it is effective because. E are constantly doing surveys we dont have to do programs that are not adding value. Of more than 16,000 process reported that they would use what they learned in their own transition planning. Programrted that the enhance their confidence in transition planning, and the reason those numbers are high is give usyou continue to feedback. This works. This is a working. Tweak it. We want to be a sponge. We want to make sure its 100 , not simply 55 95 . I am heartened by 95 but i want to talk to the 5 who didnt think we could then service. To do a better job. Another key to the program is the close coronation with our partners. I have spoken to a number of Service Members who want to start their own small business, and we have one of our important partners, the department of education, the department of agriculture. They serve so many pockets of rule america and veterans all over our country, including but not limited to rural america. So we want to make sure we have our partners here. Sharing our expertise in borrowing from some of our colleagues learning moment is how we deliver the best programs to our transitioning Service Members and their spouses so that we can fortify that link. You know because you have made it your life work on homelessness. If we want to eliminate veterans homelessness, it starts with Housing First. The data is overwhelming. We have to address Housing First. We have made tremendous progress in this area. In late 2009, the president set forth an ambitious goal to end homelessness among veterans. Some are skeptical. They said we could not do this until they saw what was happening in places like virginia, places like new orleans and phoenix, Salt Lake City and others. They have shown us how to eliminate functional veterans homelessness and it is again all , about partnership. About a year ago i traveled to with of these cities secretary mcdonald and secretary castro and we teamed up with local partners, with faith leaders, with local elected officials, that healthy competition going into other cities and saying hey, how come , how come youit cant do it. They look at you and say well, were working on it. That is good. Behind all the facts and figures and Success Stories are people. The thing that inspires me in this job are the people that i meet. The Service Providers like you who are doing such remarkable work. The veterans who are overcoming the odds. People like genevieve. We met her when we went to tucson. A few months before he met her, she was a single mom who found herself homeless with no job prospects. She was referred to the Sullivan Jackson Employment Center where she access shortterm housing assistance, completed a Skills Training Program and enrolled in the community college. As genevieve told us, the services she received were not handouts. They were a hand up to help her turn her life around, to translate these skills she developed in her military service into a civilian career. Thanks in large measure to all of you here in this room. Homelessness among veterans has fallen by 36 . That didnt happen by chance. That happened because of the hard work of people in this room. I and here to say again on behalf of the president thank , you. According to a 2010 in time point survey, more than 74,000 veterans were homeless. In january 2015 the number has fallen to 48,000. That is a substantial decline. As i said earlier, we have more work to do. I was actually out in tucson for the point in time survey and i met a person who to this day inspires me. A guy named cliff wade. When cliff got out of the army, he found himself with no job, no home, and he got into the criminal Justice System before for the grace of god could go any of us. What cliff did after he was able to turn his life around, he got into a Labor Department funded event for veterans. He met a director of Transitional Living program who help connect him to the resources that he needed to get on his feet. What cliff does today if he is now a veterans out reach specialist for old pueblo Community Services. As he told me, and i quote, these are cliffs words. We can go around the horn here and everybody could tell the of these stories of success. Thats what gets you out of bed in the morning and thats what helps me tell my parents that maybe have got another letter of reference, mom. My story is evidence that ending veterans homelessness can work. Today im a taxpayer who makes too much money to qualify for the services who got me off the street, who have a bachelors degree with honors in engineering, and every day i lucky to have a job change in am the lives of veterans like me. Everyday you are lucky to have that job. Every day my wife is privileged to have that job of expanding opportunity. And one thing that enables us to expand opportunity are those grants. Leon thank you for mentioning , that at the outset. We know that hprp works. Its a vital program, singularly focused on attaching Homeless Veterans to the labor force, and it is only Getting Better because we have drawn our experiences to improve the program. Weve made house calls so we can learn from you about how to do a better job. We posted a streamlined funding opportunity announcement over a month earlier, by the way, than previous years because we heard from you. Get that money out sooner because we could use that. Guess what, we are announcing it today. I am going to talk to you about that right now. Here is what we are doing. We are looking at participant outcomes. We want to make sure we are measuring participant outcomes. We dont want to simply give money out. We want to make sure we measure outcomes be a participant outcomes have improved over the course of the administration. The most recent annual placement rate is 69 , which is the highest in program history. We all know that many of the veterans we are trying to place have multiple barriers to employment. And so its not as simple as giving them a resume and a few job leads. Weve got to address all of those barriers. We take the veteran where we find him or her and get them on ,e have a 69 Participation Rate the numbers are striking, but the people behind the data get us out of bed in the morning. Who foundmarine himself homeless and unemployed after years of Substance Abuse. When a coordinator met him in 2002, Douglas Living in an emergency shelter. She enrolled in the program, transferred to transitional outpatientnt to treatment and worked diligently with our core nader to make himself a great candidate and a support staff position at a family shelter like the one where he who started. Today, doug is the director of housing for begin house. His Associates Degree and now he who lives in his own home with his family. That is what this is all about. , and we knowdougs veteran homelessness is not a economicrage, but an detriment. Everyone i talk to who gets out of homelessness, i asked him what they are most excited about . They say, i want to work. I want to contribute to my community. I want to be a role model to my children. That is what we hear day in and day out. That is why he was so important for us, and i really appreciate the feedback i got two years ago when i asked the question, what can we do better . Ask for, make sure you more money. We asked for more money and we got it. We need your help to make sure it is funded in the coming budget cycle. [applause] the 35e to tell you that Million Dollars we already have it, that we are announcing and what award of more than 35,000 in grants, this includes 63 new grants totaling over 15 million local investment boards, tribal governments, faithbased and Community Based organizations. These grants will provide 17,000 veterans with training and placement assistance to excel in the civilian labor market just as they excelled in their service to our country. Starting in july, we are building a best Practice Model veterans. T successful we are requiring every participant b enrolled be coenrolled. The new policy will offer Additional Services not normally offered to recipients, such as Disability Services in the form of vocational rehab. Veterans will have access to individual training. Disabilityans navigator services. Community college services. Employment and training workshops. So Many Services that are in offices we call a american job centers. When you have additional tools in your toolbox, you can move the ball down the field even more effectively. That is why we are doing this. We are initiating the dialogue with our federal partners on other ways that we can increase the impact within the broader context of programs that serve Homeless Veterans. But we cant stop fighting for those who fought hard for us. That is why, thank you for your recommendations. He you look at the budget and we are proposing a 50 million appropriation for fiscal year 2017. Been up there on the hill during the appropriation cycle, we cannot do it alone. I am asking for your help to make sure this 50 million becomes a reality. I am here to say i need your help. K . Surep to the hill and make 50 million becomes a reality because this is a great example of how government working together with our partners can change lives. That is what this is all about. It is about changing lives. Is about making sure we are doing everything we can do for a group of people who have are done everything they can do for our nation. That is why we spend so much time building and expending partnerships with business leaders. Our vets teams have a remarkable relationship with joe biden and the first lady. You are doing so much to encourage private sector partners. Fore are preparing people jobs, but nobody is hiring them, that is not going to work. The good news is the biggest have soe is that we Many Employers interested who have figured out that veterans are great workers to have because they understand teamwork. They understand how to work under pressure. They have the Core Competencies to succeed. We have had so many remarkably thective partnership with u. S. Chamber, j. P. Morgan and chase, labor unions like the helmets to hardhats. We have worked with companies to produce results. Had a similarly remarkable track record. I want to say thank you to many fundraisers. Not limited to the Home Depot Foundation and vesting over the last five years and affordable Housing Development for homelessness and their families. I know that some of your grantees from the foundation are here. I hope youll up the great work. City Community Development having meaningful investments in Affordable Housing. What i have seen in terms of the remaining Unfinished Business is , you go to los angeles, and you an acute housing crisis. The scope of the problem is so significant that we need to continue these investments and housing so that we can implement these Housing First initiatives. Lyft we know there are transportation barriers. The good news is that we understand there are transportation vouchers you can get so you can get back on your feet. As you move forward on the balcony looking down, i hope you take a moment to say, we have come a long way. I hope you dont take too long. We do have a long way to go. We are going to be there with you. You know what . The peertopeer Knowledge Exchange is a fancy way of saying we all learn from each other. That is what you are doing here. You know what . Because the maniacs. Cleptomaniac. Ideae not had an original in years. The third time it is my idea. [applause] i hope you will allow me to do that. You have so many good ideas out there. Is occurringn that in local communities across this country is what it is all about. For me, what it is all about is a visit i took to walter reed a few months back because i make it a point to talk to veterans who are recovering from injuries in the line of duty. Met a Wounded Warrior last year and he flew had a tshirt on he had a tshirt on that embodies our Mission Statement that said, i cannot fail. It is not in my dna. Who was a doubleamputee had a remarkable spirits and he you wanted to get to work. He had a determination about him. I would offer a friendly amendment to what hes who said to what hes who said. In his inspired remarks, the president said something i think is remarkably applicable to our work here. He said the most important word in democracy is that simple two letter word, we. We as a people in order to form a more Perfect Union. It is amazing what we can accomplish when we marshal the collective power of we. The Voting Rights act that followed the tragic incidents of bloody sunday. It was about ordinary people who did extraordinary things for our nation. Done to that is being end chronic veterans homelessness, is about a strawberry people in this room and elsewhere it is about Extraordinary People in this room and elsewhere. Partners in faith communities. Partners in education. Partners in the business community. Partners in the labor movement. And you all at the tip of the that asaking sure Herbert Humphries challenged us, making sure that nobody in this country is living in the shadows. So thank you for your work. Thank you for educating us. Thank you for pushing us. I encourage you to continue to do so. I encourage you to give us those ideas so i can feel them. [applause] and take them to scale. Share them with my colleagues. And sometimes give you credit. [laughter] i will try to make sure i do that. But i am so grateful for the work that you do because again, i have a feeling your parents taught you the same thing my parents taught me. Youre getting letters of reference with great regularity. As a result of that, we are a better nation because we all succeed only when we all succeed. And we all succeed when we succeed when we build a full team carry thank you for building a more Perfect Union every single day by making sure that nobody lives in the shadows. 50 for educating us in making us smarter thank you for educating us and making us smarter. And have a great conference. [applause] American History tv on cspan3, tonight at 10 00 eastern on railamerica, more than 100,000 cubans. Leeing cuba they come in 140 kilometers to key west florida in nearly 2000 boats. Why did they come . Why are they so many . 125,000 cuban refugees arrived in florida. Here interviews and find out why they left. Sunday morning at 10 00 on road thehe white house rewind, republican conventions. Bill clinton excesses nomination. And the name of the hardworking americans who make of our forgotten middle last, i proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States. [applause] incumbent and president george h. W. Bush excepts his partys nomination. I am honored to accept your nomination for president of the United States. At 4 40 five, our architectural historian, barry lewis, on greenwich minutes. It gave us what we already understood. East of six avenue was Washington Square. Nobody ever crossed the line. The people from west of six avenue might cross the line to work as a servant in Washington Square. But believe me, the people on Washington Square went to six avenue. Every time i look at washington, it is unanimous. Unanimously commander in chief. Unanimouslya president of United States. Unanimously appointed as the Lieutenant General and commander in chief of all the armies. What a record. Peter henriquez explores that even though washington was officially retired, she continued to meet with political figures and was often called to craft policy. For the complete American History tv we can story schedule, go to www. Cspan. Org. Mohammed ali died yesterday at the age of 74. His death comes a few days after she was admitted to a phoenix area hospital for respiratory problems. Bahamas ali was wellknown mohammed ali won several championship fights throughout his career and a gold medal at the 1960 summer olympics. After retirement, she was he was diagnosed with parkinsons disease in the mid1980s. That is something his wife spoke while testifying on behalf of her husband and the fight against parkinsons disease. Heres a portion of her testimony. Ali, heaneys no introduction. Since the greatest of alltime. Him forbeen married to 14 years. Among her many activities related to parkinsons disease, she serves on the board of the Michael J Fox foundation for Parkinsons Research. We welcome you both here. Ali, pleasing proceeded to so desire. A little correction, i have been married to him 16 years. I have to count each year. [laughter] you for inviting us on for important hearing parkinsons Disease Research funding. We are grateful for your support in focusing attention on this important topic. We were compelled to be here today because of the troubling situation we sing occurring with regard to Parkinsons Research that may be unnecessary delaying progress toward better treatments and even a cure for parkinsons. Hasre here because mohammed never been want to sit quietly and wait for things to happen. And always has been a fighter, not just in the ring, with each and every cause the believes he believes in. Champions for research and will not stop until we reach the gold a cure for parkinsons. To the world, my husband is known as an olympic goldmedal winner and a man who listed up for what he believes in. The matter what the cause, heat is always used his charm and grace and wit to better the world. From the Antiwar Movement to the , to ther civil rights plight of many third world countries, key has he has never been far from the center ring. Today, he is facing an opponent unlike years ever fought. Just like the million to suffer from parkinsons, p is battling a relentless insidious the. Parkinsons recognizes no titles nor bows to talent or character. Parkinsons this not discriminate. There is no question that parkinsons is the fight of his life. Thank you. Whoffects more than those have the disease. As a wise, friend and confidant as a wife, friend, and confidant, our entire family and Close Friends have been impacted as well. At this time in our life, we expected to be enjoying retirement and most importantly enjoying time together as a family. Parkinsons never stop trying to rob us of those streams. Even though mohammed expunging back and refuses to go down, we are not living the life we envision. We often talk about how much mohammed would be doing to make the world a better place and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. To fight racism and to spread his message of peace. There can be no doubt parkinsons is depriving not only our family, but the nation, and even the world of a hollands full mohammeds full contribution. There are one million americans suffering from parkinsons. Imagine what those one million americans could be doing to better the world is not for the disease . While we keep up the fight on a personal level, scientists are fighting each and every day in laboratories across the country to find a cure. Isy tell us that parkinsons the most curable, neurological disease. At a hearing before the subcommittee on september 28, 1999, dr. Langston, president of said,rkinsons institute while science is full of serendipity and surprises, sometimes you hit a point where it is time to focus. I believe we are at a point where there is enough knowledge that it is a time to focus. With a focused effort, the pieces are in front of us and the sciences there. We could make major progress towards the disease. We have reached a crossroads. There, but sciences the money is not. I am proud to serve as a member of the board of the Michael J Fox foundation for Parkinsons Research. The foundation is doing tremendous work to find incredibly promising hybrid research. Now it is time for the federal government to get into the fight for real. We must provide the federal funds necessary to carry out this promising research. Leader in biomedical research, our government has a responsibility to realize a tremendous scientific potential and provide adequate funding. Nihyears ago, the established the parkinsons disease agenda was called for a 1 billion increase in parkinsons funding. Parkinsonsy, the agenda is not been fully funded. Aere is 100 there is shorthaul a shortfall for this year alone. Time is of the essence. The tragic underfunding may lead to missed opportunities for better treatment and a cure. Nih have ane opportunity to see effective treatment and possibly a chore if the necessary funding was made available. Mohammed has never been one to do anything halfway and he has on doing anything secondbest. Nih and congress to not only to not go halfway on the agenda. The federal government must work hard to reach the goal of finding a cure. Our challenge to you today is to champion this research to fully fund the parkinsons Disease Research agenda by submitting 300 million for year three. Together, lets knock parkinsons disease down for the count. Thank you very much. [applause] some tweets from the campaign trail that the death of mohammed ali. Donald trump says, she was truly e was truly a great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all. Another tweet rest in peace mohammed ali. Life alert. Wrote, mohammed ally was the greatest, not only end effort, but a man of great courage and humanity. Coming up, we will hear from Bernie Sanders at a town hall in los angeles. You can watch it live, right here on cspan. Secretary, we probably toe 72 of our delegate votes the next president of United States [tears and applause] [cheers and applause] this weekend, the cspans cities towards explores the history of literary culture of las vegas nevada. On book tv, we will visit the writers block, an independent bookstore and artificial Bird Sanctuary in downtown las vegas. The laswner talks about vegas literary scene and why she chose to open the only independent bookstore in the city. From happening and what independent bookstore, there is a lot of big readers here and a population of excellent writers. This city has a little bit more literally literary vibrancy. Former las vegas mayor, oscar goodman, recounts his life, and the book being oscar. A couple of weeks later, a phone calls a phone call comes in from a monster. His brother was arrested and you wanted to know who was the best criminal lawyer in las vegas. The fellow who lifted up the foreign who lifted up the phone said, who is the best criminal lawyer in las vegas . He said, call oscar. Revisit the center for Gaming Research to see items in the collection related to gambling in los angeles and learn about how the industry evolve. Chemicals back to the merry beginnings of las vegas. By theas was established Union Pacific railroad then it was the salt Lake Los Angeles and san pedro railroad. Then they bought a branch from a woman named Helen Stewart and decided to let a town out here. We will visit the National Testing field. A u. S. Department of energy reservation located 65 miles west of las vegas. Was established in 1951 for the testing of their devices. Mushroom clouds from the atmospheric tests could be seeing 100 miles. The commission started advertisement in advance so that tourists planning our itinerary could witness or observing in the air blast. Toursch the cspan cities throughout the day and afternoon at 2 00 on American History tv of cspan3. Visitingn cities tour cities across the country. Oregon, california, vermont, and West Virginia are four states that automatically register eligible citizens to vote when obtaining a drivers license. The center for justice hosted a forum to discuss the new policy and what it could mean nationwide of other states were to adopt it. This is one hour and 45 minutes. Good morning. We will try that again. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome. I am the president for the Brennan Center of justice for the nyu school of law. We are thrilled to welcome you all here for this wonderful event. Activists, of leaders, of scholars, of citizens of all over the country. A signal moment, a breakthrough, and the long fight for american democracy and we are grateful for all of you for being here. Areny of you think you supposed to be at the nyu commencement, you are in the wrong place. You are allowed to look out of the window for a few moments. Substancefilled conference for all of us. In our country, a troubled time, when so many people feel anger and disaffection. Many of ourth so fellow citizens with their basic right to vote our challenge. When that numbers of people fear that government and Public Institutions simply cannot meet the challenges of the moment, we are here to discuss and celebrate and advance a breakthrough and how we run our elections and how american democracy works. In so many ways, this is the core american story. It did not start last year 50 years ago. We have been having these debates over how are over how to make democracy real for years. The nation was founded committed to the idea, government is legitimate only if it rest on the consent of the governed. From the beginning, americans understood that the meaningful ability to vote was at the heart of that consent of the government. Asked, who were to be the electors for the new government . Not the rich more than the poor, not the learned more than the ignorant, not the haughty airs a , the electors are to be the great body of the people of the United States. That was the ideal from the mary beginning. Live up to it then, we dont live up to it now, but it is what we have driven to in our moments. We have moved forward and backward. When Voter Registration systems were put in place at the beginning of the 20th century, they brought improvements on how elections were run, but they were also implement in a manner that made it harder for poor people, working people, nonenglish speakers, to vote. Span that right and improve it. By 2001, in the wake of the fiasco in florida, former president S Jimmy Carter and gerald ford studied this issue, and they wrote that the registration laws enforced are among the worlds most amending and a big reason why voter turnout in the u. S. Is at the bottom of the developed world. Chilling diagnoses. As many of you know, there have been significant progress since then. Will move to modernize our election systems through things such as online registration and a whole host of other ways. The Lessons Learned from those incremental steps have created this opportunity for a big breakthrough, ebola reform, something that can transform the , automaticelections registration. This is a time where we are seeing a breakthrough for this change. It is buried out