World Homeless Day 2023 - VA Homeless Programs
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VA Homeless Programs

 

World Homeless Day 2023

October 10, 2023, is World Homeless Day when we work to draw attention to the needs of people who experience homelessness locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved in responding to homelessness.

The words "homeless" and "Veteran" should not exist together. VA is committed to ending homelessness among Veterans because it is our nation's duty to ensure all Veterans have a place to call home.

Significant progress has been made to prevent and end Veteran homelessness. Since 2010, the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has declined by more than 55%. And since 2015, 83 communities and 3 states (Virginia, Connecticut, and Delaware) have achieved an effective end to Veteran homelessness.

State of Veteran Homelessness

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, data show that on a single night in January 2022, 33,129 Veterans experienced homelessness in the U.S. This reflects an 11% decrease in the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness from 2020, an average decrease of 5.5% over the past two years. It also reflects a 55.3% reduction in Veteran homelessness since 2010.

The decline follows several years where the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness remained virtually unchanged, despite having decreased significantly from 2010-2016.

Looking deeper at the data, we see that of the Veterans counted, 19,565 experienced sheltered homelessness and 13,564 experienced unsheltered homelessness. Veterans who experience sheltered homelessness often live in places such as emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or other supportive settings. In contrast, Veterans who experience unsheltered homelessness live in places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings, and literally on the street.

Risk Factors for Homelessness among Veterans

A study by the National Center on Homeless among Veterans categorized the risk factors contributing to Veterans experiencing homelessness in two ways:

  • Individual-level factors such as substance use disorders, lack of stable income or employment, history of incarceration, lack of social support, and adverse childhood events.
  • System-level factors such as lack of affordable housing, lack of economic opportunities, neighborhood factors, and cultural factors.

Another study that examined 100,000 Veterans with a history of homelessness identified four risk profiles: 1) Veterans with relatively few problems; 2) Veterans who have a substance use disorder and a mental health condition; 3) Veterans who have a substance use disorder; have a history of incarceration and live in poverty; and 4) Veterans who have a disabling medical condition.

Watch our video on risk factors for homelessness. 

VA Resources to Help Homeless and At-risk Veterans

VA offers a wide array of services to address the full spectrum of the housing instability and homelessness experience. We provide:

  • Outreach, engagement, assessment, and referral services such as the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) and the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans are the front doors to both VA homeless programs and the broader VA health care system.
  • Residential services such as the HCHV Contracted Residential Services or Grant and Per Diem programs provide temporary placement, in the form of emergency or transitional housing, for Veterans who need a place to stay right now.
  • Permanent housing services such as the Supportive Services for Veteran Families and HUD-VA Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH, programs connect Veterans to affordable housing in their communities. These services come with either short or long-term rental subsidies, case management, and varying levels of wrap-around supportive services to ensure that Veterans have all the necessary resources to stay housed.
  • VA also has programs to assist Veterans in the criminal justice system with accessing VA services, help Veterans gain meaningful employment, or take care of their health needs through primary care tailored to the unique access barriers that Veterans experiencing homelessness face.

How You Can Help

We all have a part to play in ending Veteran homelessness. There are many ways that Americans can help end Veteran homelessness:

  • If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 for assistance. It is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors who can talk with you right now and connect you with your nearest VA for help.
  • If you are a landlord or housing provider with housing units, rent to Veterans participating in VA homeless programs.
  • If you are a business owner, hire homeless and formerly homeless Veterans.
  • And to everyone else, please keep the call center’s number handy – 877-424-3838 – and use it if you know of homeless Veterans needing assistance.

Stay Connected and Up-to-date on Veteran Homelessness

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