In March 2023, the Syracuse VA Medical Center placed 141 homeless veterans into permanent housing — exceeding their goal of 133. Jessica Horning, LCSW and VA Homeless Outreach Coordinator, announced the milestone as part of a national VA housing challenge. The primary mechanism behind those placements: HUD-VASH.
HUD-VASH combines a standard Housing Choice Voucher — functionally identical to Section 8 — with ongoing supportive services from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The voucher pays the rent. The VA keeps the veteran housed.
How It Works in Syracuse
The Syracuse VA Medical Center at 800 Irving Avenue runs the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program, which conducts outreach across Onondaga County. The HCHV Coordinator is Nicole Costa, LCSW. Homeless services line: (315) 425-3463. Email: [email protected].
The referral process starts at the VA, not at a housing authority. A veteran contacts the Syracuse VA or calls the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 (24 hours, 7 days). VA staff screen for eligibility — the veteran must be homeless and VA-eligible. A HUD-VASH case manager then refers the veteran to one of two local housing authorities: Syracuse Housing Authority or Christopher Community.
The housing authority conducts its own eligibility review, issues the voucher, and the case manager helps the veteran find a unit. Once the veteran signs a lease and moves in, VA case management continues indefinitely. The veteran must stay engaged with VA services to maintain the voucher.
Payment Standards
HUD-VASH uses the same Fair Market Rent structure as standard Section 8. For the Syracuse metro in FY 2025:
Studio: $963
1-Bedroom: $1,074
2-Bedroom: $1,321
3-Bedroom: $1,616
4-Bedroom: $1,821
HUD-VASH payment standards can be set up to 120 percent of FMR without special approval. Above that requires direct HUD authorization. Onondaga County may also use Small Area FMRs, meaning payment standards vary by ZIP code.
The veteran pays approximately 30 percent of their income toward rent. The voucher covers the balance.
Local Administrators
Syracuse Housing Authority — 516 Burt Street, Syracuse, NY 13202. (315) 475-6181. Manages the HUD-VASH voucher allocation as part of their total 4,237 Housing Choice Vouchers. The specific HUD-VASH count within that total is not publicly broken out.
Christopher Community — 990 James Street, Syracuse, NY 13203. (315) 424-1821. Also administers VASH vouchers for veterans in Onondaga County townships and villages.
Veteran Homelessness in Central New York
The 2024 Point-in-Time Count for the NY-505 Continuum of Care — covering Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties — recorded 1,192 total homeless individuals. Approximately 71 percent were in Onondaga County. Homelessness across the three-county region has increased over 60 percent since 2019.
Nationally, 32,882 veterans were homeless on a single night in January 2024. That figure was down 7.5 percent from 2023 — one of the few homelessness categories trending in the right direction. HUD-VASH is the largest single program responsible for that decline.
The VA’s target is to functionally end veteran homelessness — defined not as zero homeless veterans, but as a system where every veteran who becomes homeless can be rapidly identified, engaged, and permanently housed. Syracuse VA’s 141 placements in 2023 suggest the local system is functional. Whether it can keep pace with rising overall homelessness in the region is a different question.
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