Page 28 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2016

COASTNOTES
HELPING
HOMELESS
Coast mayors cited for work with homeless veterans
photos courtesy of Billy Hewes and FoFo Gilich
The mayors of Biloxi and Gulfport sippi Housing Authority Region VIII have been commended for their ef- in Gulfport, and community partners
forts to help end homelessness among veterans. U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro called Mayors Andrew “FoFo” Gilich of Biloxi and Billy Hewes of Gulfport to congratulate them for their involve- ment.
Castro told the mayors and other local housing advocates that federal agencies believe Biloxi and Gulfport have effectively ended homelessness among veterans. What this means, according to Matthew Doherty, execu- tive director of the National Council on Homelessness, is that Gulfport and Biloxi have put in place programs with the capacity and resources to assist veterans in obtaining and maintaining housing stability.
Mary Simons, executive director of Open Doors Homeless Coalition, said, “While every housing crisis among veterans and their families cannot be prevented, we have the systems in
BILLY Hewes
FOFO Gilich
that include Oak Arbor, Hancock Resource Center, and Voices of Calvary Ministries, who have received federal funds to assist veterans and their fami- lies across the Coast.”
In addition to providing resources
for veterans experiencing homeless- ness to move into housing, local efforts have created opportunities for jobs so that veterans and their families can increase their incomes and close the door to homelessness forever.
“As the lead agency for the Harrison County HOME Consortium, Gulfport has partnered with Biloxi, Back Bay Mission and Gulf Coast Housing Ini- tiative in the construction of eight new apartments designated for our veter- ans,” Mayor Hewes said. “This bench- mark for veterans is crucial, however, we must build on this work to create solutions for the overall problem and causes of homelessness which persists in our communities.”
28 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • February 2016
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
place across the Gulf Coast to assure that veterans who need affordable housing and services will be linked to the resources to ensure that any bout of homelessness is rare, brief and non- recurring.”
During last year, 244 homeless veter- ans across the Coast moved into hous- ing and a stable environment.
“This effort has been a team effort,” Mayor Gilich said. “Biloxi and Gulf- port are receiving this designation because of strong partnerships with the Biloxi Veterans Administration, the Biloxi Housing Authority, the Missis-
THE