Hines VA Hospital permanently housed over 300 homeless Veterans in 2022
PRESS RELEASE
January 26, 2023
Hines , IL — Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital provided 315 permanent housing placements to homeless Veterans in 2022, 128% of its year-end goal.
The effort was part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ nationwide goal to house 38,000 homeless Veterans in 2022.
“No Veteran should experience homelessness,” said James Doelling, Hines VA Hospital director. “The progress Hines VA Hospital has made to combat Veteran homelessness shows that we have the right solutions and tools to support our nation’s heroes.”
Hines VA’s area of responsibility includes suburban Cook County, Du Page County, Kane County and Will County. Since 2011, Hines VA Hospital has spearheaded significant reductions in Veteran homelessness throughout it’s area. Data from a single night in January 2022 indicated substantial decreases across the four-county region since 2011, specifically:
- Suburban Cook County: An 83% decrease from 2011.
- DuPage County: A 55% decrease from 2011.
- Kane County: An 82% decrease from 2011.
- Will County: A 50% decrease from 2011.
“Over the past decade, the Hines VA Homeless program has developed a homeless response system that ensures on any given day, Veterans can immediately access a shelter, be engaged by VA staff, and start the process in securing their own safe, stable housing,” said Kerry Thomas, Hines VA Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program manager. “While this large decline in 2022 and over the past decade speaks volumes to the work we have accomplished thus far, our program remains committed to ending Veteran homelessness across all the communities we serve.”
Nationally, VA housed 40,401 Veterans in 2022, exceeding its goal 38,000 by more than 6.3%. The total number of Veterans who experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2022, was 33,129 — a decrease of 11% from January 2020, the last year a full PIT Count was conducted.
The estimated number of Veterans experiencing homelessness in America has declined by 55.3% since 2010. These efforts are built on the evidence-based “Housing First” approach, which prioritizes getting a Veteran into housing, then provides the Veteran with support needed to stay housed — including health care, job training, legal and education assistance.
Veterans experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity can call Hines VA at 708-202-4961 or email HinesHomelessOutreachProgram@va.gov.
Community members can also call or email to report a homeless Veteran in their community. A Hines VA social worker can be dispatched to aid the Veteran in need. Hines VA will notify the nearest VA medical center if a Veteran is outside its area of responsibility.
About Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago on a 147-acre campus, offers primary, extended and specialty care to veteran patients in the Chicago area. We are the largest VA in the state of Illinois, where more than a million veterans reside. The hospital treats more than 44,000 veterans from World War II through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.