Atlas Research has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans to create a screening tool for benefits and services at the national and local levels, and to share the tool’s availability with VA staff and Veterans.
Under the contract, the Atlas Team will develop and promote a benefits assistance and support system to provide VA case management staff with knowledge, skills, and resources to help Veterans apply for appropriate benefits. The system’s tools will include web apps, skills training in benefit access, and a help desk with trained staff knowledgeable about benefits in the targeted cities. The information will include a variety of mainstream resources available locally through national programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Medicare, various Social Security programs, and the Child Health Insurance Program as well as locally-administered legal aid, credit counseling, vocational, income, and benefits assistance, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
As a result, VA staff will have valuable information at their fingertips and Veterans will be able to efficiently apply for and receive the benefits for which they are eligible.
“This collaboration between government and community-based staff will provide a simple and comprehensive ‘one-stop’ access system for VA staff and Veterans,” said Hilda R. Heady, Senior Vice President with Atlas and the program’s director. “The provision of easy access to assistance programs for Veterans who are homeless or at risk is an important contribution to VA’s Five-Year Plan to End Veterans Homelessness.”
Project partners include Binary Group (Arlington, VA), Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (Sudbury, MA), and Single Stop USA (New York, NY), who bring a wealth of expertise supporting an end to Veteran homelessness through housing, employment, and benefit services, and proven web applications and training programs.