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SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't the stuff of a carefully scripted news conference or some other public event where elected officials glad hand and make speeches.
It was a small group of service providers and government employees meeting in a nondescript conference room, as they have weekly for four years, working through a list of homeless veterans in Salt Lake County who need housing.
On Thursday, the group paused briefly to acknowledge it had exceeded an ambitious goal set five months ago: to house 111 homeless veterans by Veterans Day.
"Way to go team, 113 today," said Kevin Austin, housing administration supervisor for The Road Home, leading this week's meeting of the Veteran Community Triage Group.
Although someone brought cupcakes, the celebration was low key. In fact, most of the meeting was spent poring over the list of veterans yet to be housed.
One veteran hadn't been heard from since going to his brother's funeral out of state. Another vet was close to signing a lease. Yet another had spent a year in a hospital and is dealing with a traumatic brain injury.
The group is made up of representatives of The Road Home, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Volunteers of America-Utah, First Step House, Salt Lake County, Housing Authority of Salt Lake City, Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake, and the Utah Homeless Management Information System team.
When the group set a goal of housing 111 veterans by 11/11, Austin said he drove away from the weekly meeting wondering aloud, "What did we get ourselves into?"
But the goal was the next logical step of the earlier work of the group, which had created a by-name list of every veteran experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County, and a commitment by every partner agency to update the shared Utah Homeless Management Information System after every contact with a veteran.
Once the list was completed, the partners worked to verify people on the list were veterans, assessed them for services, lined up vouchers and other funding, and sought out willing property managers.
The 111th veteran placed in housing was Brent Anderson, who signed a lease Thursday afternoon and was handed the keys to a one-bedroom unit at Ball Park Apartments.
Opening the door of his new digs, Anderson's eyes lit up as he stepped inside.
"It's pretty cool. Wow. What a blessing," he said.
For the first time in a long time, Anderson was home. He is among friends, has the support of family and is in sustained recovery from an opiate addiction. It appears he has a job waiting for him, he said.
Mostly, Anderson views this new chapter in his life as an opportunity to make his family proud.
"They've seen some not so good stuff from me, and they've never turned their back on me," he said.
Anderson, a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, said he was grateful for the help of the VA, Road Home, First Step House and other partners that have given him a chance for a do-over in an apartment complex that's nearly new.
Deborah Kooring, Salt Lake property manager for Highland Property Management Inc., said handing over the keys to someone who hasn't had his or her own place for a long time "is always a great feeling."
"A lot of people come from homelessness before moving in here or they come from a group home so they haven't had their own place for a long time, so you can just tell it means a lot to people. Some people show it more than others, but as they're living here, they're getting more comfortable. They just settle in and it's their home," Kooring said.
While homeless veterans have many of the same characteristics of other populations experiencing homelessness, many "are a little more resistant to services because sometimes they have some resentment toward institutions, so a lot of times they're harder to target," Austin said.
Among chronically homeless veterans with traumatic brain injuries, many also struggle with substance use disorders, he said.
But due to the initiative of first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, there has been renewed emphasis on assisting veterans with housing needs.
"There's more subsidy percentage-wise for veterans than any other population," Austin said.
Between the support of the federal government and the triage group's work to refine its list and work together to house veterans, the group is near the point it can place a veteran in housing within two months of identifying them, Austin said.
While some use the term "functional zero" in describing homelessness among veterans in Utah, Austin said the state is "not quite there. But we're really close."
Just as Thursday was a day for Anderson to celebrate, it was a highly significant milestone for the Veteran Community Triage Group, said Melanie Zamora, director of The Road Home's housing programs.
"It is so amazing to see you all knowing who each other is talking about, going down a list that is super fluid, and you have helped 113 people move into housing quietly, under the radar, with absolutely no fanfare. You’ve just done it. I’m really touched and proud," Zamora said.
Kerry Steadman, Salt Lake County's community services manager, said he hopes all in the room "remember this day."
"I just look at where we were six months ago and where we are today. Wow. Look at the list. Look at the information we’re using. Look at the coordination. Look who’s coming around the table," he said.
Steadman told the group that he keeps a journal. "There’s going to be a little note in my journal today: 'I attended a meeting where I could see an impact being made on some of our most critical members of our community. And it was done with compassion and commitment.'"
Zamora said she plans to share the good news with the masses.
"I’m really excited. I’m going to tweet this all over," she said.
