Rental assistance funds for Chesco vets made available

CHESTER COUNTY

$305,000 in rental aid for veterans

COATESVILLE Chester County received more than $305,000 in rental assistance for veterans, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Monday in Coatesville.

The federal agency awarded a total of more than $570,000 to housing authorities in Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The agency awarded $1.5 million in Pennsylvania.

The additional Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher awards are part of the Obama administration's plan to try to end veteran homelessness this year. An estimated 50,000 veterans are homeless nationwide.

In February, Chester County again pledged to house at least 100 veterans in 100 days. It housed 102 veterans in the same project last year.

"A good percentage of our homeless veterans have incomes so low that, without a housing voucher, it's going to be difficult to find an affordable unit, especially in Chester County," said Dale Gravett, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of Chester.

The executive directors of the housing authorities in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties gathered on Monday afternoon to receive the voucher awards. - Michaelle Bond