Veteran Homelessness Rates Decline 5 Percent

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a decrease in the number of homeless veterans across the nation. The results show that 37,878 veterans were homeless in January 2018. Then looking at the 40,020 veterans in January 2017. While this 5.4 percent decrease may not seem significant to some, the number of homeless veterans has dwindled to nearly half of that reported in 2010.

Furthermore, the rate of homelessness for female veterans has seen a 10 percent decline in just a one-year period.

“We owe it to our Veterans to make certain they have a place to call home,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “We’ve made great strides in our efforts to end Veteran homelessness, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure those who wore our nation’s uniform have access to stable housing.”

Three states – Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia – and 64 local communities have “effectively ended” veteran homelessness. These areas have implemented systems to both resolve and prevent the issue.

The decreased number of homeless veterans is largely a result of the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program. This started under the Obama Administration.  This program provides housing, a case manager, and clinical services for homeless veterans; 4,000 of whom benefited just last year alone. Moreover, the VA reported, “an additional 50,000 Veterans found permanent housing and supportive services through VA’s continuum of homeless programs.”