“There are a lot of returning veterans in need of housing and other services,” Fitzhenry said, “and getting a person a place to live is part of getting your life back to where it was before they left.”
Administered by the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development, the program’s main goal is to bring housing stability to the very low-income veterans families who are living in or transitioning to permanent housing, explained Olivia Lyons, who runs LHAND’s Regional Housing Resource Center on Franklin Street.
LHAND partnered with Military Friends Foundation and North Shore Veterans Counseling Services to land the grant. Norm Cole, director of Development and Planning for LHAND, said they will continue to work together. He called the program that includes local, state and federal agencies coming together, “the way government should work.”
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said that so often when soldiers come home from war something seems missing.
“I hope this program will add back a component to their lives,” she said.
Along with Kennedy, state Reps. Robert Fennell and Steven Walsh were on hand along with Ward 5 Councilor and Sen. Thomas McGee’s chief of staff, Brendan Crighton.
Rep. John Tierney was scheduled to attend the event but was called back to Washington. In an email, Tierney said helping to provide housing and other services to those who fought for this country is only right.
“In recent years, I joined Lynn officials, and many others, to determine Lynn Housing Authority’s eligibility for these funds and to ensure that the good work done by all of those involved was being accurately represented to the VA,” he said. “This funding will provide supportive services to help veterans and their families, in Lynn and across Essex and Middlesex counties, by preventing homelessness, increasing housing stability and enhancing independent living skills. This comprehensive program, a partnership between the federal government, the city of Lynn, local non-profits and many others, is just the kind of investment that highlights the positive role of government and the services that are at risk when some in Congress consistently put politics before sound policy.”
Veterans Services Director Michael Sweeney credited LHAND Executive Director Charles Gaeta and his perseverance in applying for the grant. Gaeta said it has taken eight years to put together the programs they now have to assist veterans.
“We all understand … that at the end of the day for veterans it’s about safe, permanent and stable housing,” Sweeney said.
Sarah Keller Likins, executive director of the Military Friends Foundation, said her office has been grappling with the fact that three veterans from the same unit have committed suicide, all within about six weeks of each other. She said the SSVF program should be a statewide model.
“It’s not just about breathing room for veterans but a clear path to stability,” she said.
