In 2003, in support of the goal of ending chronic homelessness, and building upon previous efforts of the 1988 – 1995 Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, partnered together to launch the Ending Chronic Homelessness through Employment and Housing (ECHEH) initiative. The initiative was funded by three branches within DOL - the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), and the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) - and by HUD’s Office of Special Populations. In this five year initiative, DOL and HUD awarded a combined total of $23,615,367 to five local workforce investment boards and their respective housing partners. A major goal of this initiative was to develop sustainable and effective direct service partnerships between housing providers, homeless assistance agencies, and the mainstream workforce system.