by Sarah Jawaid, National Housing Conference
HUD Secretary Donovan made an appearance last night on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart where he highlighted the administration’s position in dealing with veteran homelessness and families facing foreclosure. In the segment, Donovan explained that getting an individual into housing is cheaper than government paying the costs of emergency services (like EMTs and police) incurred as a result of homelessness. He also brought up President Obama’s goal of eradicating veteran homelessness by 2015. In the last year, HUD has helped 20% of homeless veterans find a stable home. This appearance coincides with the administration’s plan released today to help homeless veterans.
President Obama today announced a plan to help veterans and service members affected by the foreclosure crisis receive relief. This fits into the President’s larger plan for housing recovery by helping responsible homeowners families refinance their homes and support communities that are the most impacted by foreclosures. The announcement also included a reduction of fees for FHA borrowers seeking to refinance.
The plan to help veterans and service members includes: “compensating service members wrongfully foreclosed upon, compensating service members wrongfully charged higher interest rates, providing relief for service members forced to sell their home at a loss due to a permanent change in station, $10 million for the veterans housing benefit program, foreclosure protections for service members receiving hostile fire/imminent danger pay.”