Veterans' requests for food and housing assistance have spiked since the start of the federal government shutdown. That's the finding of Combined Arms, a Houston-based nonprofit that helps veterans across Texas and other states, in cooperation with 300 partner organizations.
Combined Arms CEO Mike Hutchings estimated food assistance requests have jumped 49% since the shutdown began at the start of October, while rent or mortgage aid requests are up 23% over the same period.
"We’re anticipating with the pause — specifically with SNAP, for food insecurity, and HUD-VASH, housing insecurity — about 107,000 veterans affected within the state of Texas," Hutchings said. “These are also primarily your aging veteran population on fixed incomes or low-income veteran population, so very high risk."
The U.S. Senate voted Monday to approve a continuing resolution to reopen the government. The House must also approve the measure in order to end the shutdown, which on Tuesday — Veterans Day — reached its 42nd day.
Houston Public Media reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the SNAP program, for comment about the shutdown’s impacts on veterans. USDA sent an automated reply.
“Due to staff furloughs resulting from the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, the typical monitoring of this press inbox may be impacted,” the reply stated. “As you await a response, please remember these delays could have been avoided had Senate Democrats supported the clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government.”
Houston Public Media received a similar automated reply from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees the HUD-VASH voucher program.
Combined Arms has developed what Hutchings describes as a GPS-type technology platform to connect veterans and military families to social services. The organization provides help both on-site at its Houston headquarters as well as through its mobile pantries and community events.
"We’re filling the gaps in right now," Hutchings said, "working with great organizations like Houston Food Bank, working with the active-duty installations, doing this in regional kind of food deserts across the state and in Houston. But it’s a short-term solution."
Hutchings said Combined Arms' revenue only gives it the capacity to help roughly 1% to 2% of the affected veteran population in Texas right now.
"So, the sooner that we’re able to get the government back up in the operation, the better care we can take for veterans and military families," he said.
Hutchings said that, typically, most of the requests for help Combined Arms receives relate to military personnel seeking help transitioning to civilian life. Many veterans are seeking to make use of their leadership skills in the business world. He said the organization fields a particularly large number of requests from people leaving Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and seeking to relocate to Houston or Dallas.
"Veterans are civic assets," Hutchings said. "These are our leaders in the community. There are people that vote. They engage. They make companies better, and they make their community stronger, and they make our nation, our national security, stronger."
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