Committee on Veterans (2026)

Part 11: Veterans Task Force: Accountability, Follow-Up, and the Role of Veterans With Lived Experience

Key Findings

• The Veterans Task Force (VTF) was established through the New York City Continuum of Care (CoC) to bring together government agencies, nonprofit providers, and individuals with lived experience to reduce veteran homelessness.
• The stated mission of the VTF was to identify barriers, coordinate resources, improve access to housing, and develop solutions necessary to end homelessness among veterans.
• Meeting records documented repeated concerns involving:
• Lengthy housing timelines
• HUD-VASH and voucher delays
• Documentation barriers
• Outreach coordination
• Agency communication challenges
• Complex veteran cases
• While these issues were discussed during meetings, concerns remained regarding whether identified problems resulted in measurable follow-up, assigned responsibility, deadlines, or documented outcomes.
• Veterans with lived experience expressed concerns that discussions often focused on systems and policy while veterans experiencing immediate crises continued facing barriers accessing shelter, documentation, VA services, and permanent housing.
• Ending veteran homelessness requires not only identifying problems, but tracking whether solutions are implemented and whether veterans experience improved outcomes.

Purpose of the Veterans Task Force

The Veterans Task Force was created as a collaborative body within New York City's Continuum of Care system. Its purpose was to bring together representatives from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, service providers, and veterans with lived experience to address barriers preventing veterans from achieving permanent housing.

The Veterans Task Force Committee Agreement states that the VTF brings together government partners, nonprofit providers, and people with lived experience of homelessness to decrease housing barriers, coordinate federal funding, develop programs, and increase resources needed to end veteran homelessness.

The inclusion of veterans with lived experience was a critical component of the Task Force structure. Veterans who have personally navigated homelessness, shelters, VA systems, HUD-VASH vouchers, healthcare programs, and permanent housing processes provide insight that cannot be captured through administrative reports alone.

Issues Identified During Veterans Task Force Meetings

Veterans Task Force records documented several recurring barriers affecting homeless veterans:

• Long housing timelines
• HUD-VASH voucher utilization challenges
• Documentation delays
• VA and city agency coordination
• Outreach barriers
• Complex case management
• Communication between providers

Meeting records identified significant delays moving veterans from homelessness into permanent housing. Discussions included timelines involving multiple agencies, with approximately 188 days connected to NYCHA processes and approximately 244 days involving HPD processes.

The Task Force recognized that reducing these delays required additional coordination. However, identifying a barrier is only the first step. Effective oversight requires:

• A responsible agency or representative
• Corrective action plans
• Timelines for completion
• Progress reports
• Measurable improvements

Need for Follow-Up and Outcome Tracking

A recurring issue identified in this review is the difference between discussing challenges and documenting their resolution.

Meeting records reflected several issues requiring continued review, including:

• Complex case reviews awaiting scheduling
• Additional discussions regarding housing timelines
• Outreach coordination improvements
• Project-based voucher planning
• Resource coordination efforts

The June 2023 meeting minutes documented that a DVS project-based voucher workgroup had not met since the previous Veterans Task Force meeting. The minutes also noted that DHS was still working to schedule a multi-agency complex case review.

Without documented completion dates and measurable outcomes, it becomes difficult to determine whether discussions resulted in meaningful improvements for veterans.

Veterans With Lived Experience and Immediate Needs

Veterans experiencing homelessness often require immediate assistance involving:

• Shelter placement
• Identification documents
• DD-214 military records
• VA enrollment
• Disability benefits
• Healthcare access
• Housing vouchers
• Crisis intervention

Veterans with lived experience raised concerns that discussions sometimes focused on broader policy systems while individual veterans continued experiencing urgent barriers.

For a veteran experiencing homelessness, delays are not simply administrative issues. Delays can mean additional nights without stable housing, missed medical appointments, loss of benefits, increased stress, and greater risk of crisis.

A system designed to end veteran homelessness must have the ability to respond when existing procedures fail.

Borden Avenue and Task Force Oversight

The Veterans Task Force repeatedly discussed Borden Avenue because of its role serving veterans experiencing homelessness in New York City.

Meeting records documented discussions involving:

• Outreach schedules
• Facility updates
• Construction
• Cubicle installation
• Service coordination

The June 2023 meeting noted that veterans had returned to Borden Avenue following construction and that outreach activities could resume. Borden Avenue and Barbara Kleiman were identified as primary locations where veterans could receive coordinated services.

While coordination occurred, later concerns raised by veterans questioned whether enough attention was directed toward evaluating the quality and effectiveness of services provided, including safety, VA access, transition preparation, and successful housing outcomes.

Accountability and Veteran Participation

The Veterans Task Force Committee Agreement emphasized professionalism, confidentiality, cooperation, and respect among participants.

These standards are important when working with vulnerable populations. However, accountability also requires that veterans with lived experience are able to identify problems, question systems, and advocate for improvements.

A successful advisory process requires balancing collaboration with honest evaluation.

Veterans included because of their lived experience provide value because they understand how policies operate after implementation.



Conclusion

The Veterans Task Force was created with an important purpose: bringing together agencies, providers, and veterans with lived experience to end veteran homelessness in New York City.

Records demonstrate that the Task Force identified many significant barriers, including housing delays, documentation problems, outreach challenges, and coordination issues.

The central issue identified in this report is whether discussions consistently produced documented action, measurable progress, and improved outcomes.

Ending veteran homelessness requires more than meetings and reports. It requires ensuring that every identified barrier receives follow-up, every proposed solution is evaluated, and every veteran has confidence that raising concerns results in meaningful action.