“It’s the smart thing to do for your business,” said the First Lady upon her plea for landlords across the country to begin taking homeless veterans into their properties. For those who have vacancies that they’re looking to fill, Michelle Obama has called for consideration of allowing those spaces for some of the almost-50,000 (as of January 2014) homeless vets in the United States.
It’s no question that there is a massive homelessness problem within America at present. Mrs. Obama, in an effort to reduce some of these dramatically-high numbers, has pointed out that a great resource lies within the many unused units within properties. As a part of this endeavor, she is asking landlords to consider becoming involved with the “Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, an initiative that provides grants to nonprofits and consumer cooperatives on behalf of vets in need and to be more receptive to accepting HUD-VASH vouchers.” The vouchers make it easier for veterans to afford housing alongside the support of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
Some may be wary of any effects that this assistance will have on their property management, but the First Lady has made the claim that it will end up being beneficial to business. The fear seems to be that landlords may have a difficult tenant as they imagine a soldier stereotype, but many are making the changes and are getting involved in the program. “LA, which has more than 2,700 homeless veterans, has been working to reduce the stigma that’s often associated with veterans. Through its “Home for Good” program, the city is working to identify more landlords willing to rent to homeless veterans.”
So, what can landlords do to alleviate this situation? As a start, landlords should learn the facts of what opening up units to homeless veterans mean for them and their business. According to Mrs. Obama, opening the doors to these GIs means “strategic advantages” for property managers, such as “guaranteed rent payments and supportive staff to handle any issues should they arise, among other benefits.” In many ways, helping these men and women by giving them a chance is much less of a risk than working with “typical” tenants, many of whom come with their own share of problems and don’t have the same kind of organization at their backs to help settle disputes.
The change can only be made for as long as cities and their property managers are willing to try. This is an issue within the country that is often overlooked and ignored despite the pride we seemingly have for our military and other men and women in service. When they return from duty, their problems are more often than not “swept under the rug,” as Michelle Obama noted, and the “Supportive Services for Veteran Families” program is meant to address that in a big way.
Everyone deserves stability. If you have an easier time managing your property, you can put all of your efforts into helping those who need it most. Focus on the nation’s housing issues and get involved however you can while leaving the other details to Anton Systems’ solutions. If you employ the SKYLINE technology to simplify your day to day, you’ll find that you have a much more seamless and integrated environment in which to work. SKYLINE software can manage multiple properties and account for a dozen different tasks so that you can address more important things. The powerful performance of this program lends itself to completing even the most daunting property tasks, including everything from financial management to facilities maintenance.