Group of mayors visits Washington to fight homelessness

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Nearly 50 mayors from cities across the country visited Washington on Tuesday to call for help from federal policymakers to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis.

“There is not a mayor in America who’s not dealing with this problem,” said Wade Kapszukiewicz, Mayor of Toledo, Ohio.

Several of the mayors said the crisis is complex and impacts cities all across the country and also stressed that it is one of the biggest issues they are currently facing.

Many of them also said homelessness is an especially concerning issue for veterans.

Rep. Mark Takano, (D-CA), said nearly 200,000 veterans have to access VA homeless programs every year but some cannot get both VA benefits and housing benefits because of an income eligibility issue.

“Right now, veterans who have who receive total or near disability compensation are unable to access affordable housing in many parts of our country because their VA benefits put them over the eligibility limits,” said Rep. Takano.

The group mayors said real changes needs to happen at the federal to help them solve the crises.

“There are solutions to this situation, but what we find is a lot of outdated laws, regulations and rules contribute to homelessness,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The mayors met with White House officials and members of Congress during their visits to talk about potential ways to solve the housing concerns.

Some of the changes that Bass said they would like to see are not including veteran benefits as income for housing eligibility, making changes to housing vouchers and flexibility in community development block grants.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz said he believes working toward solving the housing issues could help many American cities go a long way.

“Solving this problem is important for so many reasons, not the least of which, is its role in helping the overall economy of your community,” he said.

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