Federal, state and Carson City agencies team up to find homes for homeless vets

A federal grant aimed at providing permanent places to live in Carson City for veterans who are homeless has been awarded to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority, officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development announced Wednesday.

The $40,636 grant through the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA.

"The Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and our federal and local partners should be proud of the gains made in reducing veteran homelessness," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, "but so long as there remains a veteran living on our streets, we have more work to do. The vouchers made available today are a vital tool in our joint effort and when combined with the wrap-around health care and education and training services VA can provide, we can make sure veterans across the country have a home.”

The grant will be used to help with the development of the Jeanell Drive Apartments in Carson City. Located on Jeanell Drive near the intersection of North Carson Street and East Winnie Lane, the development is a collaboration of NRHA, Nevada Rural Housing, Inc., Friends in Service Helping and Carson City Community Development.

“NRHA is proud to be a part of this significant accomplishment, which will provide much needed housing to our local homeless veterans and other homeless citizens,” said NRHA Executive Director Gary Longaker. “This residence is an example of what can happen when local, state and federal partners are brought together to meet the needs of our community.

Jeanell Drive Apartments will primarily serve homeless and extremely low-income individuals at or below 30% AMI (area median income), with at least 20 percent of the units being reserved for homeless veterans. A Carson City Homeless Housing Needs Assessment 2015 prepared by Abbott Consulting in February 2015 indicated that it is primarily single adults who compose the unsheltered homeless within Carson City and surrounding areas. This population comprised a large number of seniors and those with disabilities.

To serve this group, existing structures will be replaced with a two-story residence containing 39 one-bedroom/one-bath units (540 SF).

The certified EnergyStar-rated development will provide a full complement of common space amenities for residents and staff, including a multi-purpose room and warming kitchen, computer lab, laundry room, library, manager’s office and supportive services coordinator office.

Proposed outdoor spaces include sitting and barbecue areas, a recreation area, and an attractive, water-efficient landscaped environment.

FISH, NRHI and NRHA will partner with existing social service providers to provide on-site life skills training and job training to encourage residents to seek better paying jobs and reduce their reliance on social services and costly emergency shelter solutions.

On-site programs will include On-The-Job Training (OJT) in the adjacent warehouse/work area and financial literacy courses that will enable individuals to develop job and money-management skills that will eventually help them to become self-sufficient. Additionally, Jeanell Drive Apartments will offer an on-site transportation service. FISH currently operates several programs in the community that will be available to residents at Jeanell Drive Apartments.

These programs address numerous needs of homeless populations, including medical care and access to nutritious food.

In addition to NRHA, NRHI, FISH and Carson City Community Development, the development of Jeanell Drive Apartments has been assisted by Praxis Consulting Group and Dayton and Associates. The general contractor is Q&D Construction, and Steve Harriman, AIA, is providing architectural services. The completed project will be managed by Weststates Property Management.

Construction will begin in April 2016 with a projected completion date of April 2017. It is hoped that the development will be completely full by August 2017.

The Nevada Rural Housing Authority creates hope for the future by providing a full range of housing and community development programs that help build and sustain independent communities. They provide rental support, an innovative home financing program, needs assessments and economic development to Nevada's fifteen rural counties and the rural portions of Clark and Washoe counties, with a coverage area including 110,000 square miles and more than 1.3 million people. For more information, visit www.nvrural.org.