VA Secretary David Shulkin Awards the Virginia Department of Veterans Services the Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement
From Left to Right:
- Steve Combs, Deputy Commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services
- John Newby, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services
- Matt Leslie, Director of Housing Development, Virginia Department of Veterans Services
- Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr., USN (Ret), Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs
- Jeff Doyle, USDVA, VISN 6 Homeless Coordinator
-Award Recognizes Virginia’s Enduring Commitment to Serving Homeless Veterans-
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) has been awarded the prestigious Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement for 2017 from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) Secretary David J. Shulkin, M.D. in recognition of Virginia’s commitment, dedication, and collaborative efforts to end homelessness among veterans. Only one organization in the country is given this award every year.
The award was presented at the annual Virginia Veteran Homelessness Best Practices Summit on June 8, 2017 at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
“I am honored to work with VDVS on our mutual goal of getting homeless veterans housed,” said Jeff Doyle, USDVA VISN 6 Homeless Coordinator. “The work that their Virginia Veteran and Family Support veteran housing team has done has been instrumental in building and maintaining a coordinated homeless veterans service network throughout the Commonwealth. This level of support for homeless veterans has been recognized as a national best practice.”
Receipt of the Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement highlights Virginia’s efforts to build partnerships and redesign community services and systems to ensure that veteran homelessness in the state is rare, brief, and non-recurring. The continued investments and effective interventions in Virginia, made possible by the coordinated efforts of DVS, USDVA, federal, state and local government agencies and community partners, has resulted in 3,086 homeless veterans being placed into permanent housing from October 2014 to April 2017.
“We are honored that Virginia’s successful strategies in building systems of care to assist some of our most vulnerable veterans continue to be recognized as national best practices. We continually strive to implement innovative strategies and build effective partnerships so that we can ensure Virginia Veterans get the care they have earned through service and sacrifice,” said John L. Newby II, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.
About the Virginia Department of Veterans Services
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) operates 28 benefit offices that assist veterans and their family members in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; two long-term care facilities offering nursing, assisted living, and domiciliary care for veterans, and three veterans cemeteries that provide an honored final resting place for veterans and their families. VDVS provides veterans and family members with direct linkages to needed services including behavioral healthcare, housing, employment, education, and other programs. The Department also operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s monument to honor the memory of Virginia’s men and women who demonstrated a willingness to serve and fight to defend our way of life from World War II to the present.