§2034 Coordination with other agencies and organizations

Summary

The Secretary must work with State and local governments, other federal agencies, and nonprofit groups to help homeless veterans. The Secretary can provide services together with those partners. The Secretary must also require each medical center director and each regional benefits office director to do an annual check of the needs of homeless veterans in their area. Those checks must be done with local and federal partners and nonprofits. Each check must list needs in health care, education and training, employment, shelter, counseling, and outreach, and say how well those needs are being met. Directors must also make a local list of public and private programs that help homeless people and describe their services. They must try to get those programs to make a coordinated plan. They must use existing programs and resources to meet needs as much as possible. When they cannot meet a veteran’s needs, they must try to tell that veteran about other services in the area. The Secretary will review all the local checks and include the findings in the next annual report to Congress under section 2065.