El Paso VA homeless‑program manager outlines shelter capacity, voucher shortfalls and clinical challenges

At a June meeting of local veterans stakeholders, Kristin Mitchell, manager for homeless programs at the El Paso VA, delivered a detailed briefing on the VA’s work to get unhoused veterans into stable housing and the operational limits the office faces. "Our homeless programs... goal is to house veterans. But long term stability is the real goal," Mitchell said.

Mitchell described the program mix the El Paso VA operates or partners with: a 20‑bed emergency shelter managed under contract with a community provider, and a 20‑bed Veterans Transitional Living Center (VTLC) that primarily serves men and often operates at full capacity. She said the program provides case management, employment support, HUD VASH housing‑voucher coordination and short‑term transportation to appointments and intake sites.

On vouchers and capacity, Mitchell said the VA does not directly issue housing vouchers; local public housing authorities (PHAs) handle vouchers under HUD‑VA supportive housing partnerships. "We currently have about 390 veterans with vouchers," she said, noting that figure covers El Paso and Las Cruces. On available vouchers for new placements she added, "I think we have 4 vouchers available right now, I think," framing that number as approximate.

Mitchell outlined program rules and limits: shelters are not medical facilities, veterans admitted must generally be able to manage medications and activities of daily living, and stays at the emergency shelter typically run 90–120 days (with extensions in some cases), while stays at the VTLC average nine months to two years.

She described eligibility work the team has done, including re‑reviewing discharge and benefit adjudications in individual cases to determine entitlement. In one case she said the VA had adjudicated a veteran as ineligible but a multi‑day review established that the person was in fact entitled to housing assistance.

The presentation flagged several operational and policy challenges: too few vouchers to meet demand; a changing federal policy emphasis on treatment first, announced in a July executive order, that could shift the balance between housing‑first and treatment‑first approaches; difficulties placing veterans with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), substance use disorders (SUD), or criminal‑justice flags; and the effects of hostile public spaces and aging housing stock on placement options.

Mitchell urged early coordination to prevent eviction, said staffing constraints affect intake and outreach work, and provided cell‑phone contact information so community partners could reach intake staff directly. She also noted outreach beyond El Paso — the VA catchment includes multiple neighboring counties and the office fields calls from veterans who wish to port vouchers or access services.

Next steps and context: Mitchell said the VA will continue outreach to increase voucher requests through local PHAs, work with community partners on shelter and transitional housing capacity, and seek clarification on how new federal guidance will be implemented locally. She recommended that partners direct veterans with immediate needs to the program intake number she provided.

Votes at the meeting that followed Mitchell’s presentation were procedural and did not change VA policy.