Provides help to veterans in accessing VA and community services. Services may include short-term case management, onsite primary care, access to medical, mental health, and substance abuse treatment, and access to VA housing programs, including Grant and Per Diem program, HUD/VASH, Veterans Recovery House and Supportive Service for Veteran Families (SSVF) if found eligible. These grants do not provide immediate assistance, are sometimes one-time, and may include case management. Help with finding market rate or subsidized housing or linkage to community housing programs. Assistance with expediting VA Benefit claims and access to employment programs such as Supported Employment, Veterans Reintegration program, and State employment. Access to computers, clothing, and hygiene items is available onsite.

VA Community Services offered by VA Portland Community Resource and Referral Center

Provides help to veterans in accessing VA and community services.

Outpatient medical facilities operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that provide routine primary medical care for eligible veterans. Services generally include x-rays, general health check ups, blood pressure checks, treatment for basic illnesses and laboratory tests.

Veteran Outpatient Clinics

Programs that provide clothing for people who need it. Available items depend on what has been donated and is on hand at any given time. The collection may include but does not specialize in children's clothes, work clothes, maternity clothes and shoes.

General Clothing Provision

Programs that maintain information about community resources that are appropriate for a specific target group or human services sector (for example, youth programs or addiction services) and which link individuals who are in need of specialized services with appropriate resources and/or which provide information about community agencies and organizations that offer specialized services.

Specialized Information and Referral

Programs that develop plans for the evaluation, treatment and/or care of individuals who, because of age, illness, disability or other difficulties, need assistance in planning and arranging for services; which assess the individual's needs; coordinate the delivery of needed services; ensure that services are obtained in accordance with the case plan; and follow up and monitor progress to ensure that services are having a beneficial impact on the individual. Case management is a collaborative process characterized by communication, advocacy and resource management to promote high quality, cost-effective interventions and outcomes.

Case/Care Management

Organizations that are part of a community-wide, coordinated effort to identify, assess and find appropriate options for homeless individuals and families seeking housing or related services, and/or for those at imminent risk of becoming homeless. The number of physical access points in the community for intake and assessment may vary (no wrong door), but all sites use the same assessment and targeting tools; make referrals using the same criteria and have access to the same set of resources including homelessness prevention (e.g., rent assistance), shelters, shelter diversion programs, service centers, transitional housing programs, permanent housing programs and outreach programs. Most coordinated entry programs also include real-time knowledge about program inventory and capacity, referral and waiting list management, and enrollment/admission decision criteria as process components.

Housing Related Coordinated Entry

Programs that link people who are in need of drug and/or alcohol use disorder services with appropriate resources.

Substance Use Disorder Referrals

Programs that assign a staff member to assist people who are looking for housing to survey the available residences and to choose and obtain the most suitable option.

Housing Search Assistance

Programs that provide assistance for veterans who are having difficulty understanding, accessing, and/or are unaware of the full benefits and services to which they are entitled by law based on service to their country. The programs may help veterans understand the eligibility criteria for benefits and services, the benefits and services provided by the program, the payment process and the rights of beneficiaries; provide consultation and advice; help them complete benefits and services application forms; negotiate on their behalf with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs staff; and/or represent them in administrative processes or judicial litigation. Included are Veteran Services Officers (VSOs) who are trained and accredited by the Veteran's Administration (VA) and can be found in offices specific to each state, the county courthouse, the local VA office and local veteran's rights organizations; as well as legal aid programs that offer more formalized legal assistance.

Veteran Benefits Assistance

Programs that provide resume preparation assistance, career counseling, vocational assessment, job development, job training, job search, job placement and/or other services for unemployed veterans who need assistance re-entering the workforce. Programs for homeless veterans may also provide supportive services such as clothing; access to temporary, transitional and permanent housing; referrals for medical and substance abuse treatment; and transportation assistance. Veteran employment programs may be configured for recently separated veterans, homeless veterans, veterans with service-connected disabilities and other special populations or may be broadly available to veterans in general.

Veteran Employment Programs

Programs that provide extended shelter and supportive services primarily for homeless individuals and/or families with the goal of helping them live independently and transition into permanent housing. Some programs require that the individual/family be transitioning from a short-term emergency shelter. The length of stay varies considerably by program. It is generally longer than two weeks but typically 60 days or more and, in many cases, up to two years or more. The supportive services may be provided directly by the organization managing the housing or may be coordinated by them and provided by other public or private agencies. Transitional housing/shelter is generally provided in apartment style facilities with a higher degree of privacy than short-term homeless shelters; may be provided at no cost to the resident; and may be configured for specialized groups within the homeless population such as people with substance use disorders, a mental illness, AIDS/HIV, who have experienced domestic violence and/or veterans. In some cases, a "transition in place" option allows families to continue living in the same complex (if not the same unit) where their transitional housing unit is located when they are ready to move to permanent housing. In other cases, the permanent housing option is either public housing or private rental housing supported by a tenant-based voucher subsidy. Included are post-domestic violence shelter housing programs that make affordable rental housing (or other accommodations) available to women, generally those who are coming directly out of a domestic violence shelter or other crisis shelter, often in apartment complexes owned by the shelter; and programs that provide transitional housing and support services for other targeted groups such as military and veteran families and others who need a temporary supportive living environment to maintain stability and begin to thrive.

Transitional Housing/Shelter

Programs that pay for or provide soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, combs, brushes, cotton swabs, deodorant, facial tissue, toilet paper and other personal hygiene/grooming supplies for homeless people and other individuals who need them.

Personal/Grooming Supplies

A federally-supported, tenant-based housing program administered by local housing authorities that provides assistance in the form of vouchers that enable income-eligible families to find and lease approved privately owned housing where the landlord has agreed to enter into a contract with the housing authority and/or finance agency. Tenant-based assistance provides rental subsidies that move with a household into any qualifying housing within a certain area. The housing can be (and often is) private housing that may not have been built with the intention of accepting solely low-income tenants, but if the quality and cost of the unit fall within a specified range, it may qualify. Eligible households pay approximately 30% to 40% of their adjusted gross income for rent and the housing authority subsidizes the balance.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

Mission is to provide compassionate care and instill hope in recovery. Using the most current and evidence-based approaches, we treat the whole individual, including underlying factors that contribute to problems with substance use. Care is provided by a team of psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, chaplains, and/or addiction therapists. Welcome all substance use-related treatment goals, and celebrate all changes made in the direction of improved health and wellness.

Substance Abuse Treatment Services offered at US Department of Veterans Affairs at Spokane VA Medical Center

Mission is to provide compassionate care and instill hope in recovery. Using the most current and evidence-based approaches, we treat the whole individual, including underlying factors that contribute to problems with substance use. Care is provided by a team of psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, chaplains, and/or addiction therapists. Welcome all substance use-related treatment goals and celebrate all changes made in the direction of improved health and wellness.

Programs that provide individual, group or family therapy for individuals who have problems related to the excessive use of alcohol and/or use of other drugs (and/or for their families) to help them better understand the nature of the disorder and support recovery efforts.

Substance Use Disorder Counseling

Supervised, structured programs that offer a wide range of outpatient services which may be coordinated by a case manager and may include individual and group counseling, 12-step meetings, social and recreational activities, educational and vocational services, life skills training, primary health care, perinatal health care, a program for family members, relapse prevention services, a continuing care program and supportive services (such as child care, transportation and parenting skills development) for individuals who have problems related to excessive use of alcohol and/or use of other drugs and need access to treatment to maintain their individual recovery plans but do not require the intensity of a day treatment program or 24-hour hospital care. Participants attend the program on a regularly scheduled basis at least once a month but usually more frequently depending on their individual needs. Intensive outpatient programs are usually available three or four days per week for three or four hours per day.

Comprehensive Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Health care facilities operated by the U.S. government that provide inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and psychiatric care for eligible veterans.

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VA Community Services offered by VA Portland Community Resource and Referral Center

Substance Abuse Treatment Services offered at US Department of Veterans Affairs at Spokane VA Medical Center