Voices of HOPE: Meet Latricia Nation, Director of Veteran Services
During 100 Days of HOPE, we’re shining a light on “Voices of HOPE” in our community — including the HOPE Atlanta staff who work tirelessly to end homelessness and hunger. To kick off this series, we spoke with Latricia Nation, Director of Veteran Services.
It’s widely known that military veterans face unique obstacles that put them at greater risk of homelessness. Helping veterans overcome their challenges while simultaneously navigating government agencies and the complex housing system is no small feat. COVID-19, an affordable housing shortage, and rising living costs have worsened the issues.
HOPE Atlanta’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program provides struggling veterans with housing and “wraparound services.” Despite mounting challenges, the team continues to develop new solutions to improve the outlook for veterans in Georgia. Leading HOPE Atlanta’s SSVF program is Latricia Nation, Director of Veteran Services.
Latricia leads a team of more than 30 staff members who provide services across 30 Georgia counties and the City of Atlanta — all while raising a family and working to earn her doctorate in nonprofit management. Having held a leadership position at another homelessness-focused nonprofit, Family Promise, and worked as an SSVF case manager at HOPE Atlanta, Latricia has a track record for collaboration and innovation. Let’s hear more about the issues at hand, how Latricia and her team are intervening, and why she remains HOPEful for the future.
Veteran Homelessness in Atlanta: Understanding Today’s Issues
It’s a rough housing market for buyers and renters in general. But it’s even tougher for veterans, especially those who have lost their homes, have poor credit, or are using housing vouchers. Some clients whom she had previously housed are once again facing housing insecurity as a result of being displaced when landlords decide to sell.“Landlord retention has been a challenge,” Latricia explained. “The housing market is booming, so people want to sell their houses. People I had assisted four years ago are right back in the program.”
Inflation and rising rent costs can also lead to housing insecurity or homelessness. Latricia says most veterans calling for assistance are looking to prevent homelessness — they need some extra help with rent and expenses to avoid eviction. Clients include single men as well as many women and families, usually between the ages of 35 and 60.
On top of the struggles veterans everywhere face, like mental health challenges and navigating VA and disability claims, some issues are more unique to Georgia.
“Atlanta is very hard to navigate. A lot of counties don’t have MARTA,” she said.
This makes it even more challenging to secure housing and resources, especially for those living in the suburbs.
“You can’t force your veterans to move somewhere — it’s housing first,” Latricia noted. “Veterans who previously lived in the suburbs don’t want to move away from their support systems, but all the resources are in Metro Atlanta.”
Yet another challenge for veterans is securing assistance when technicalities like income level and discharge status disqualify them from accessing VA-funded resources. Thanks to a generous grant from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, HOPE Atlanta is able to help more veterans in need.
“To date, we’ve served more than 69 veterans who would not have been eligible for services,” said Latricia. “We’ve provided critical assistance with move-in costs, homelessness prevention, hotel lodging, and car repairs — none of which would have been possible without the generous support of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.”
What’s Being Done to Help Veterans Remain Housed?
With affordable housing in short supply, the HOPE Atlanta team is constantly working on solutions to increase inventory — including reaching out directly to landlords and building relationships.
“Because of COVID, it has been hard to do landlord engagement,” Latricia explained. “We are about to start that up again. One of the housing specialists I work with delivered baskets to the landlords just to tell them ‘thank you’ for housing our veterans, so we are starting to ramp that back up.
Besides fostering relationships with landlords and property management companies, Latricia’s team has developed ways to ease their anxieties about housing their veteran clients. For example, a new grant will allow the team to provide more incentives to landlords — like several months of upfront rent payment — starting in September.
The Veterans Services Team also recently initiated a new program called Shallow Subsidy. “That’s where we pay half of their rent for two years, no strings attached. That allows our veteran clients to save, make more money, get a degree, etc.,” she said.
Then there are solutions outside the housing market, like helping clients reunite with loved ones.
“We have a program called ‘Returning Home’ that allows veterans living here to return home if their families say, ‘Hey, we don’t want you living on the streets anymore,’” Latricia said. “We can fly them there. We transfer them to an SSVF in that county.” The team can also help resolve veterans’ family disputes before they result in homelessness.
The Veterans Services Team team also provides a spectrum of wraparound services to set veterans up for success. Among them are healthcare navigation support, non-criminal legal services, and iPhones for veterans. Latricia’s team even opened a Lyft account for veterans living outside of MARTA service areas to help with transportation to job interviews, doctor appointments, and more.
‘Thinking on a Broader Scale’: The Future of Veteran Services
When she was at Family Promise, Latricia saw firsthand how out-of-the-box thinking makes a world of difference to people on the brink of disaster. There, the organization purchased a church building and turned it into a “one-stop-shop” for families needing temporary housing, food, and childcare assistance. As HOPE Atlanta looks to incorporate innovative new ideas and partnerships in its strategic plan, under the leadership of new CEO Julio Carrillo, Latricia is excited about what new possibilities could mean for the clients her team serves.
“I just want to put the ideas out there,” she said. “You don’t have to build a million-dollar apartment complex. You can take over an old school, an abandoned hotel — there are so many things you can do without spending a ton of money. Even if it’s for 90 days, that at least gives us a chance to house them and work with apartment complexes.”
Latricia’s also optimistic about how new projects and collaborations will benefit housing-insecure veterans. For example, Project Community Connections, Inc. is developing 117 affordable housing units.
Thanks to the innovative thinking, passion, and dedication of Latricia and her team, countless veterans will be able to reclaim the security and self-sufficiency they deserve. One particular success story came to mind for Latricia:
“I had one veteran who no longer needed the assistance and actually returned the rent check because he no longer needed us to help him.”
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