Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee names subcommittee chairs, prioritizes homelessness response and flags 988 crisis-line gaps
Summary
The committee appointed Donald Brown as homelessness subcommittee chair and Melissa Hartcrow as employment chair, kept Donna Juarez as mental-health chair, and discussed an uptick in veteran homelessness, a failed effort to connect a veteran to VA benefits and concerns about 988 call capacity in Texas.
At its Jan. 16 meeting the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee reorganized subcommittee leadership and focused discussion on veteran homelessness and mental-health crisis response.
Donald Brown was appointed chair of the homelessness subcommittee by voice vote after nominees were considered. Melissa Hartcrow was named employment subcommittee chair and Donna Juarez will continue as mental-health chair.
Nut graf: Committee members said veteran homelessness is rising in El Paso and described a recent case in which local providers were unable to connect a homeless veteran to VA benefits in time; members announced plans for coordinated outreach and to participate in the Jan. 23 point-in-time count.
Paul Albright and other members described coordinated meetings with community providers including the Opportunity Center, Coalition for the Homeless and Endeavors to identify barriers to rapid housing. Members said they will form a cross-functional team with police and service providers to speed housing placements and prevention-of-recurrence efforts.
A committee member raised statewide concerns about 988 crisis-line capacity, saying Texas faces a roughly $7,000,000 funding shortfall for 988 operations and that the state ranked high for abandoned 988 calls in recent months. A staff member said that when 988 calls drop, 988 will attempt an immediate callback; if the caller does not answer, local law enforcement may be dispatched for a wellness check and Emergency Health Network (EHN) crisis counselors or CIT teams can respond locally.
Members asked staff to pursue follow-up meetings to identify local contingency call-routing options and alternatives (for example, local 24/7 EHN lines) and to report back to the subcommittee.
Ending: The committee said homelessness would be a top priority for 2025 and that subcommittees would report progress at future meetings.
