USICH is excited to announce the release of the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness titled Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness on Tuesday, June 22. Opening Doors will serve as a roadmap for joint action by Council agencies to guide the development of programs and budget proposals towards a set of measurable targets.

Each night, 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States are without housing. The HEARTH Act, signed into law by President Obama in May 2009, mandated that USICH produce a “national strategic plan” to end homelessness to Congress. Beginning in January 2010, USICH held regional stakeholder meetings, organized federal working groups focused on specific populations, solicited public comment through an interactive website, and engaged experts from across the country to develop an action plan to solve homelessness for veterans, adults, families, youth, and children.

USICH will announce the historic plan at the White House on June 22 at 9:00 AM EDT with three Cabinet Secretaries: HUD Secretary and USICH Chair Shaun Donovan, Labor Secretary and USICH Vice Chair Hilda Solis, and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

We invite you to join us for the announcement by watching it live on www.whitehouse.gov/live. Opening Doors will be available at www.usich.gov and www.hud.gov. We will also be hosting a live webinar to have a more in-depth discussion with Assistant Secretaries from HUD, Labor, HHS, and VA about the specifics of the Plan. We will release information about the webinar on the USICH website in the coming days.

Event Location: Disabled American Veterans, Chapter #30, 3512 Orlando Drive, Sanford FL 32773 (On Hwy. 17-92 in Sanford, just north of Lake Mary Boulevard on the left side)

HSN and the VA need volunteers for this event — especially men or women who are veterans themselves!

Volunteers can perform any of the following tasks:

• Intake (one-on-one interviews with homeless veterans, completing a simple intake form)
• Shepherd  (assist veterans as they navigate the many services available)
• Distribution (hand out pre-assembled donations of food bags, clothing and backpacks)
• Showers/Clothing (maintain the shower area and assist with selection of underwear and clothing)
• Set-up/Take down (arrange/remove tables, chairs, signs)
• Crowd control (direct veterans and volunteers to registration; answer basic event questions)

Registration: The deadline for registration is Monday, August 3, 2009. You have many registration options available to you.

1. Click here to fill out an online form.
2. Go to the Volunteer Match web site and search for keywords: veterans, Sanford.
3. Download a registration form, edit it in a word processor, and email it back to us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.
4. Download a registration form, print it, fill it out, and fax it back to us at 407-893-5299.
5. Call our volunteer coordinator for this event, Allison Estes at 407-893-0133 x107.

All volunteers must attend training on Monday, August 3, 2009 at either 12pm-1pm or 6:30pm-7:30pm at the Disabled American Veterans chapter site. Volunteers will receive their task assignments and a t-shirt during check-in on the day of the Stand Down, Saturday, August 8, 2009.

If you have questions. call HSN at 407-893-0133 or email us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.