DENVER (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki visits Denver Tuesday to discuss his department's plan to eliminate homelessness among veterans.
Shinseki will visit a VA Community Resource and Referral Center.
He has set a goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015. He has said the number of homeless veterans fell by 12 percent in 2011.
The VA has announced $3.1 million in grants this year for Colorado programs that help homeless veterans.
The department said last week that the Colorado Coalition would get $1.2 million to shelter homeless veterans in Denver. Earlier, the VA said Volunteers of America in Colorado would get more than $977,000 and Denver Options would get more than $933,000.
Shinseki's visit and the grant announcements come amid intense campaigning in Colorado, considered a swing state in the 2012 presidential race.
Shinseki also visited Colorado in March, attending a winter sports clinic for veterans and meeting with staff and patients at the Denver VA Medical Center.
The VA has been under pressure from Congress to improve services to veterans who need permanent homes or mental health care.
In May, an inspector general's report said nearly half of veterans who seek mental health care for the first time waited about 50 days before receiving a full evaluation. The VA had been saying 95 percent of new patients seeking mental health treatment got a full evaluation within 14 days.
Just before the inspector general's report was released, the department said it would hire 1,900 more mental health care workers to improve access to care.
