First lady Michelle Obama tells a room full of mayors about the importance of ending veteran homelessness. She spoke Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. (SHFWire photo by Heather Khalifa)
First Lady Michelle Obama addressed nearly 300 mayors at the Capital Hilton on Thursday. The annual Conference of Mayors was an opportunity for FLOTUS to thank leaders across the nation for their efforts to achieve the goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. She issued the call nearly two years ago, and today she said many cities have completely solved the problem, including Biloxi, New Orleans, Houston and the entire state of Virginia.
Their efforts have resulted in helping 157,000 veterans secure permanent housing.
“You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that every kind of community in America can end veterans homelessness,” she said before commenting, “Did we meet the goal to solve this problem by the end of last year? No we didn’t. Do we regret having set that goal? Absolutely not.”
FLOTUS said,”When you set ambitious goals, you create a sense of urgency and then you start taking ambitious action. Even if you fall short at first, you’ve started to create the momentum you need to ultimately succeed.”
Mrs. Obama took the time to recognize many mayors individually. She thanked Governor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans specifically for not only being the first major city to reach the goal but also continuing “nightly search” efforts to help past service members in need.
See her full remarks (beginning at 31:00):
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