This time last year, Rajean Paulus was living in an RV on family land. Struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from her time serving in the National Guard, finding and holding a job was difficult. Though she always dreamed of a place of her own to call home, she struggled to make and save enough money to escape the confined RV walls. After serving in the National Guard, dealing with PTSD, going through a divorce, and caring for her children, Rajean felt like she had lost herself.

But last December, when working with a case worker from the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, Rajean learned about MPHA’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Voucher (HUD-VASH) program. A collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Veterans Affairs Department (VA), HUD-VASH provides housing and supportive services to homeless veterans by combining vouchers with case management and clinical services. For Rajean, this was the lifeline she needed.

“I don’t know what I would have done without this program,” said Rajean Paulus, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing program participant.

She completed the intake meeting with the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and was referred to MPHA for income eligibility screening and was quickly approved. In a few months’ time, Rajean’s dream of living in a place of her own came true.

This past March, Rajean used her HUD-VASH voucher to move into an apartment with her youngest son. Since moving into her new apartment, she feels free to be herself, and even her apartment’s decor reflects that with her own original paintings lining the walls.

“It’s because of this program that I was able to find my fight and freedom again,” said Rajean. “I always felt like I was living in someone else’s world. I never trusted who I was. But now I am making my own world, living to no one’s expectations but my own.”

With stable and affordable housing, Rajean can focus on healing. And in just a few months in her new place, she has seen an improvement in her relationship with her adult children and gained a deep sense of security she has never felt before.

In Minneapolis, MPHA maintains a partnership with the Minneapolis VAMC to administer 347 HUD-VASH vouchers for veterans like Rajean. The Minneapolis VAMC screens homeless veterans for initial eligibility and establishes a case management plan to provide social services, including healthcare, mental health services, and employment resources and support. Eligible veterans who agree to participate in case management are then referred to MPHA for a voucher where they are evaluated for income eligibility before being issued a voucher.

MPHA’s HUD-VASH vouchers have been instrumental in effectively ending homelessness among veterans in Hennepin County, providing more vouchers than every other jurisdiction in Hennepin County combined. The “functional zero” designation comes from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, HUD, and the VA to establish that in Hennepin County, veterans’ homelessness is considered rare, brief, and non-reoccurring.

For veterans like Rajean, the VASH program is a safety net. It connects veterans with stable, affordable housing and social services from which they can thrive.

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If you are a veteran experiencing housing instability and need affordable housing and case management services, reach out to the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center screens homeless veterans for eligibility. Eligible veterans who agree to participate in case management are referred to MPHA for a voucher.