As the heatwave continues outside, inside the SWSC, temperatures are a different matter...or are they?

As you enter the facility, you will be enveloped by a cool air-conditoned building, leading one to think this coolness is consistent throughout the building, but it isn't.

Areas such as the staff offices, hallways, resource room and dining hall are quite cool; almost to the point of being cold, but go inside the dorm areas and it is as if walking into an oven, they are so hot.

This goes on each day,this time of year...every year with the same set of excuses by our staff..."The heat and air is not controlled by us, they are controlled downtown."

My concern is first, "Why would a nice building, such as this, have their heating and air controlled from someone who is not even in the building?" Surely, they are getting some instruction from some source of authority, who instructs them to kill the air in the dorm areas, so as to save energy.

Now, this is just a theory, of course, but I'd bet it is a good one. How else could this be explained? I mean, each sweltering spring and summer, the dorm areas in this facility are baking hot and all other areas are nice and cool.

Most guys can't sleep at night because of the temperatures inside the building at night are unbearable...some stay up late until they can just fall asleep to avoid partaking of the heat...others just try to bear it and try to sleep in it regardless.

There is a certain consistency to this entire process that would make one wonder just how happenstance this act is.

Are the heating and air controls actually being held downtown at some Wake County government office and being manned by someone who guesses which shelter areas should be cooled or heated and which should not?

Or?

Are the controls for the heating and air actually housed in the facility, as most of us think they are, being controlled by the staff and selective areas chosen to be cooled and heated...less the dormitory areas?

This poses an interesting set of circumstances for those involved. I mean, if someone, who is a SWSC staff member is controlling the temperatures of this building; whether on their own or under the duress of a superior, this would constitute an act more cruel and more heinous than that of an act of torture.

Is this what is really going on?

Stay tuned as we find out more on this topic.

Michael Watkins

HUD TO PROVIDE PERMANENT HOUSING TO NEARLY 8,000 HOMELESS VETERANS
$58.6 million HUD-VASH program to provide rental housing and support services

By:U.S. Housing and Urban Development

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that nearly 8,000 homeless veterans will get permanent housing assistance through a HUD rental assistance program that connects homeless veterans from local Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) with rental assistance vouchers provided by local public housing agencies. HUD's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) will provide local public housing agencies with $58.6 million in funding specifically targeted to assist homeless veterans in their area.

For a local breakdown of the rental vouchers announced today, visit: HUD VASH.

"Though they served and sacrificed so much for our country, too many of our veterans find themselves on the streets and in homeless shelters," said Donovan. "Thankfully, these vouchers will provide a more permanent solution to housing and services these veterans need."

"Today, the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and HUD are making a critical, long-term investment toward ending homelessness among veterans," said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "The most effective option to providing veterans permanent shelter is HUD-VA Supportive Housing -- HUD-VASH -- the Nation's largest permanent housing initiative for Veterans. We owe every man and woman, who has worn our Nation's military uniforms, a level of courage and determination that matches theirs as we work to end veteran homelessness. HUD-VASH is immensely important and effective to reaching our goal."

The grants announced today are part of a $75 million investment to support the needs of homeless veterans. HUD expects to announce a second round of funding for another 1,355 rental vouchers next month and an additional 400 project-based vouchers later this summer. Local public housing agencies that administer HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) work closely with VAMCs to manage the program. In addition to the rental assistance, VAMCs provide supportive services and case management to eligible homeless veterans.

HUD allocates the housing vouchers to local public housing agencies, which are specifically targeted to homeless veterans based on a variety of factors, including the number of reported homeless veterans and the proximity of a local VAMC with the capacity to provide case management. Local communities that receive HUD homeless assistance will work with local VAMCs to identify eligible participants. VAMC case managers will also work directly with local housing agencies that are administering the HUD-VASH program to determine income eligibility and help participants find suitable housing. Veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program rent privately owned housing and generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers eligible homeless veterans clinical and supportive services through its medical centers across the U.S and Puerto Rico.

This is the third year HUD is supporting the housing and service needs of homeless veterans across America through HUD-VASH with a total investment of $225 million that will sustain approximately 30,000 rental assistance vouchers.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

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