San Diego's VA hopes to house 851 homeless veterans this year. Data show they're moving in the right direction.

San Diego's VA aims to house hundreds of homeless veterans this year amid increased scrutiny from members of Congress about how many vouchers that help cover rent are being used.

The local agency recently announced a goal of housing 851 people and ensuring the vast majority — at least 95 percent — stay under a roof.

The VA has already boosted how many are screened and referred to the County of San Diego, one of the area governments issuing vouchers through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, known as VASH.

"We fully embrace local initiatives to achieve functional zero Veteran homelessness," Frank Pearson, director of the VA San Diego Healthcare System, said in a statement.

Four members of San Diego's congressional delegation had written Pearson in December after a story in The San Diego Union-Tribune showed that in recent years hundreds of VASH vouchers hadn't reached the people that needed them.

We "must ensure that no vouchers go unused," said U.S. Democratic Reps. Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs.

The director soon responded in a letter.

Out of 336 vouchers not fully utilized, 94 had been given to veterans still looking for housing while an additional 32 were awaiting final approval, Pearson wrote. The VA had helped more than 100 people apply for rental assistance through the county just since October.

One hundred and sixty-seven vouchers remained available, the director said Jan. 19.

County officials have wanted the federal agency to send more people their way, and public data do show improvement.

During the second half of 2022 through much of last year, the San Diego VA averaged only about 13 referrals a month.

But starting in August there have regularly been more than 30, according to records from county spokesperson Tim McClain. Two dozen came in just during the first part of March.

A contract with the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless increased outreach and the VA has worked with local governments to update the voucher process, according to Pearson's letter.

That included tweaking payment rules to make it easier for veterans to lease "slightly more expensive housing" and allowing applicants without Social Security cards to instead use military records like the Certificate of Release of Discharge from Active Duty, known as a DD-214, or an Application for Health Benefits, called 10-10EZ.

On average, it took veterans with vouchers 89 days to lock down housing through the county, the director wrote. The wait time was similar in the city of San Diego: 84 days.

"There is continued concern about available housing stock that is safe and affordable," Pearson said.

Vouchers can also be issued in the region by Oceanside and the Imperial Valley Housing Authority, and requirements change from place to place. The VA hopes to eventually adopt a universal application that may be used everywhere.

In an email, a spokesperson for Rep. Peters said the congressman was optimistic after reading the VA director's response.

"Homelessness is a housing issue and we need to incentivize housing that makes it easy for formerly homeless veterans to access the services and support they so often need," Kelly Davis wrote.

As of early March, the county was helping more than 700 formerly homeless veterans pay rent, according to McClain. Around 110 had vouchers and were looking for units.

Those currently on the street or at risk of losing a place to stay can reach the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

©2024 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.