Thursday, May 30 2013 3:13PM

More than 9,000 homeless veterans will receive permanent housing from an HUD and VA program.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have teamed up to provide permanent housing to approximately 9,000 homeless veterans.

HUD will provide $60 million to local housing agencies across the country to provide affordable housing assistance to homeless veterans, many of whom are facing chronic and debilitating health conditions. The collaborative effort, which began in 2008, has already helped more than 42,000 homeless veterans obtain permanent housing. 

"Our veterans have answered the call of duty," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "That's why our nation has its own duty - to help homeless servicemen and women rejoin the very communities they have given so much to protect. These grants make it possible to help more veterans obtain housing, bringing us steps closer to our goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015."

Many of the agencies that will receive funding have already begun to make preparations to provide housing assistance to veterans as quickly as possible.

For example, more than $3 million in rental-housing vouchers will go toward housing authorities in the Bay Area in California, many of which saw their budgets and funding reduced due to the federal sequester. However, the funds will help roughly 280 chronically homeless residents find permanent shelter, according to the Mercury News. 

For more information, check out this resource: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development