OKMULGEE, Okla. (OBV) – Volunteers of America Oklahoma, Inc., and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation obtained U.S. Department of Labor funds to help homeless, at-risk veterans reenter the workforce.
The Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) awarded more than $37 million in Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) grants to 98 organizations across the nation dedicated to helping homeless veterans find good jobs and overcome barriers to successfully return to the workforce.
The grants were awarded to organizations that are participating in the program for their second or third year.
Each organization that received grant money provides occupational skills to veterans, connects them with registered apprenticeships or other on-the-job training and delivers job search and placement services.
Volunteers of America Oklahoma, Inc., received $429,569 for its third year in the grant program. It will use the funds to help transition homeless veterans back into the workforce in Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Hughes, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, Seminole and Tulsa counties.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Okmulgee received $438,870 in funds. They will use the money get homeless veterans back into the workforce in Creek, Hughes, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Pittsburg, Rogers, Seminole, Tulsa and Wagoner counties.
Nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, Native American Tribal governments, state and local workforce development boards, state and local government agencies, higher education institutions and faith-based and community organizations all compete for HVRP grants.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stated that there were 32,882 homeless veterans in the United States in January 2024, a 7.5 percent decrease from January 2023.
Of those veterans counted in January 2024, 19,031 experienced sheltered homelessness and 13,851 experienced unsheltered homelessness.
The estimated number of homeless veterans in America has declined by 55.6 percent since 2010, according to Veterans Affairs data.
OKPolicy.org cited U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data, which shows that 304 veterans experienced homelessness in Oklahoma in 2024.
